IC-NRLF 


PRESENTED 
TO 


(Education  gJcpartnunt  for  CDntaria. 

JUNE   3Oth    1882. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


LOUISE  AND  ALLICIA. 


THE    CAMPING-OUT   SERIES. 

VOLUME   VL 


ON  THE  AMAZONS; 


THE  CRUISE  OF  "THE  RAMBLER/' 


AS  RECORDED  BY  WASH, 


BY   C.    A.   STEPHENS. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PORTER    AND    C  O  A  T  E  S, 

822  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872, 

BY  JAMES  R.  OSGOOD  &  CO., 
In  the  Orface  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington, 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


LOUISE  AND  ALLICIA, Fontispiec* 

THE   "ZANG-GAY-DY," 12 

"HAIDEE," 44 

"WoLO," 60 

A   DEADLOCK 136 

INDIAN  HUT  ON  THE  MADEIRA, 146 

THE  ROSE  OF  SAKAFAK, 204 

A  LIVELY  TEAM, 340 


THE 


BY 

C.     A.     STEPHENS. 


CAMPING   OUT; 

UEFT    ON    LABRADOR; 

OFF  TO    THE    GEYSERS; 
LYNX    HUNTING; 

FOX    HUNTING; 

ON    THE    AMAZONS. 

Each  in  one  volume,   IGmo,  fully  illustrated,  and  elegantly 
Bound  in  black   and   gold.  Price  per  vol.,  $1.50. 


The  author  of  the  "Camping-Out "  Series  of  Books  shows  that  he 
understands  boys,  and  knows  what  they  like  in  the  way  of  books. 
In  substance  and  style  his  volumes  have  the  elements  of  a  rare 
popularity.  Full  of  the  records  of  adventxire,  clear  in  their  descrip 
tions  of  scenery,  marvelous  in  their  delineations  of  character,  orig 
inal  in  the  sxibjects  who  sit  for  their  portraits,  often  quaint  in  the 
language,  with  no  lack  of  wit  or  humor,  exalting  that  which  has 
daring  and  pluck,  and  furnishing  not  a  little  real  and  valuable 
Information  concerning  the  features  and  life  of  the  forests  and  moun 
tains  and  streams,  they  hold  the  boys  captive  by  the  hour,  and  make 
gray-haired  men  live  over  again  with  an  intense  enthusiasm  the 
experiences  which  belonged  to  their  earlier  years,  when  civilization 
was  battling  for  supremacy  over  the  wildness  of  nature.  —  Morning 
Star. 

*#*  For  sale  by  all  Booksellers.  Sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  price 
by  the  Publishers. 

JAMES    R.    OSGOOD   &   Co.,  BOSTON. 


A.    C.A.RD. 


years  ago,  we  were  led  to  believe  that 
Yachts  and  Yachting  might  serve,  not  only 
as  a  means  of  recreation,  but  as  a  means  of 
education. 

On  that  idea  we  started.  Our  yacht  was  to  be 
our  college. 

The  result  has  more  than  justified  our  hopes. 
We  would  not  exchange  the  education  which 
we  have  thus  obtained  for  four  years  at  any 
college  in  America  or  Europe. 

But  we  believe  that  still  better  can  be  done. 
We  believe  that  the  motor,  steam,  may  be  util 
ized  in  the  education  of  our  youth. 

Travel  abroad  is  the  great  educator. 

Combined  with  judicious  reading  and  memo 
rization,  foreign  travel  is  a  means  of  education 
now  most  needed  by  young  Americans. 


6  A  CARD. 

The  present  college  system  does  not  give  it; 
cannot  be  made  to  give  it. 

Hence  we  propose,  in  place  of  the  present 
stationary  colleges,  a  steamship  fitted  up  and 
appointed  as  a  college  in  all  respects. 

To  interest  our  readers  in  this  college-steam 
ship  movement  is  the  object  of  this  sixth  and 
last  volume  of  our  series.  (See  pp.  68,  181,  252.) 

We  would  seek  and  respectfully  solicit  the 
earnest  co-operation  of  every  young  fellow-citi 
zen  of  our  common  country.  Unite  with  us  to 
found  the  FUTURE  AMERICAN  COLLEGE.  Give 
us  moral  support.  Talk  for  us.  Write  to  us  that 
we  may  enroll  you  with  the  phalanx  of  young 
men  —  we  may  even  add,  young  ladies  —  who  are 
"  bound  "  to  see  this  enterprise  afloat. 

THE  YOUNG  YACHTERS.* 
*  Our  friends  will  please  address  us  at  the  Publishers'. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

St.  Helena.— Voyage  from  St.  Helena  to  Para.  —A  Bail.— A  Singular 
Sort  of  Craft.  — The  "  Zang-gay-dy."  —  Land-ho !  —  Olinda.  —  The 
Tijoca.  — Off  the  Mouth  of  the  Amazons.  — The  Bore.  — Para.— 
Decide  to  leave  the  Yacht  at  Para .11 


CHAPTER  II. 

On  board  "The  Tapajos."— Threading  the  Tajapuru  Bayou. —The 
Indians  of  the  Amazons.  —  Breves.  —  Our  First  View  of  the  Great 
River.  —  Palms  and  Samaumas.  — -  Monte  Alegre'.  —  Santarem.  — 
Obydos.  —  Steamer  aground. — Portuguese  Swearing.  —  The  Mouth 
of  the  Trombetas.  — Capt.  Additon's  Sitio.  —  The  "Stars  and  Bars." 
—  Ex-Private  Sanders  of  the  C,  A.  — Our  Meeting  with  Capt.  Addi- 
ton.  — Wade's  Sisters.  —  Sisterly  Greetings.  —  The  Fazenda.  —  A 
Punka.— Tropical  Heat.—  A  Cotton-Field.  —  Major  Lowrie  .  .  18 


CHAPTER  IH. 

The  "Custard- Apple."  — A  Perplexing  Question  by  a  Fair  Questioner. 
—  The  Wicked  Darwinists.  — Good  Bishop  M ,  and  his  Opin 
ions.  —  "  Haidee."  —  A  Walk  past  the  "  Quarters." — A  Botocudo.  — 
Palo.— Wolo.  — Scanty  Apparel.  — The  Ape-Man  Question  .  .  38 

7 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

PAGE. 

The  Estradas  de  Seringas,  or  India-Rubber  Groves  of  the  Amazons. — 
Louise's  Estrada.  —  The  Machadinho.  —  Tapping  the  Trees.  —  The 
Milk. — A  Self-made  Heiress. — Myrrha's  Question.  —  Croquet  and 
Le  Cercle.  —  Smoking  the  Seringa-Sap.  —  A  Flourishing  Business. — 
Raed  asks  a  Question .55 

CHAPTER  V. 

A  Morning  on  the  Amazons.  —  Raed's  India-Rubber  Project.  —  How 
Young  Americans  need  to  be  educated.  —  Some  Resolves.  —  The 
College  Steamship.  — How  shall  Funds  be  raised?  — Will  there  be 
Opposition?  — Wade  brings  up  a  rather  Embarrassing  Reminis 
cence  68 

CHAPTER  VI. 

An  Excursion  after  Urucuri-Nuts. —  Crossing  the  Amazons.  —  Tropi 
cal  Trees.  —  Igarapes  and  Paranas,  —  A  Leaf-arched  Channel. — 
White  Monkeys.  —  Lake  Castanea.  —  Louise's  Map.  — The  Urucuri- 
Grove.  —  Showers  of  Nuts.  —The  gapucaia.  —  Brazil-Nuts.  —  Mon 
key-Pots. — Louise's  Narrow  Escape. — An  Adventure  with  Pec- 
caries 79 

CHAPTER  VII. 

An  Alarm  in  the  Night.  —  Arming  the  Indians.  —  A  Revolver  in  Fair 
Hands. --River-Thieves.  — The  Mandioca-Fields.  —  Making  Farina. 
—  Tapioca.  —  Tucupi,  or  Indian  Whiskey 103 

CHAPTER  Vnj. 

The  Fortnightly  Mail-Bag.  — Letters.  — What  our  Young  Fellow-Citi 
zens  think  of  the  Steamship  College.  Can  we  raise  a  Million  of  Dol 
lars?  —Will  Com.  Vanderbilt  give  us  a  Steamer?  —  Prof.  Agassiz.  — 
"Oliver  Optic."  — Will  Uncle  Sam  give  us  a  Vessel?— Hints  from 
Mr.  H.  C.  Lewis.  — Mr.  Champlin's  Opinion.— Miss  Louise  as  our 
Missionary  to  the  Land  of  the  Golden  God  .  .  .  .  .  109 

CHAPTER  IX. 

A  Melancholy  Jaguar.  —  Another  Nocturnal  Alarm.  —  A  Thunder 
storm.— A  Talk  with  Capt.  Additon.  —  Pioneer  Hardships.  — A 
Lady  Biographer.  —  "  Half  Calf,  8vo,  Extra  Finish."  —  A  Saucy 
Joker .  ....  118 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Off  to  the  Forest.  — Our  Outfit.  — Our  Weapons.  — We  enter  the  For- 
est.  —  Cutting  our  Way.  —  Prospecting  for  Seringas.  —  Dim  Regions. 
— Fireflies  by  Daylight,  —  Our  Camp  on  the  River.  — The  Mulatto- 
Tree.  —  Shooting  Fish.  —  Slinging  the  Hammocks.  —  "  O  Tamandua- 
assu!"  —  Miriti-Leaves.  —  A  Steamer. —  An  Alarm.  — A  Fight  in 
the  Dark.  —  The  Jaguar  and  the  AnkEater,  —  A  Gory  Spectacle  .  123 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Another  day  in  the  Forest.  —  A  Tornado.  —  An  Evil  Odor.  —  Following 
a  Bayou. —A  Lake.  —  Fishing.  —  In  the  Shade.  — Great  Heat. — 
Monkeys.  — An  Adventure  with  an  Aboma,  —  Shooting  Alligators. 
—  Groves  of  the  Brazil.nut  Tree.  — Shall  we  send  for  "The  Ram- 
bier"?  138 


CHAPTER  XII. 

An  Ocelot.  — On  Lake  Castanea.  —  Some  Bare  Bones.  — Threading  the 
Igarapes.  —  The  Completion  of  the  Survey.  —  We  start  to  cross  the 
Amazons  at  Dusk.  — A  Shower.  — Perilous  Boating.  — The  Indians 
Numb  with  Fright.  — Some  Welcome  Rockets.  —  Thanks  to  Louise, 
we  at  length  get  ashore.  —  Allicia  not  so  Well 146 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Our  Expedition  up  the  Madeira.  —  Manaos.  —  The  Steamboat  "Dom 
Pedro."  — Buying  Wood.  — The  Confluence  of  the  Rio  Negro  and 
the  Solimoens.  — On  the  Madeira.  —  Rich  Seringa- Woods.  —  Paulo. 
—  The  Parentintin  Country.  —A  Sharp  Skirmish.  —  The  Cacbibos.  — 
A  Horrid  Act  of  Cannibalism.  — We  return  to  Manaos  .  .  .151 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Arrival  of  "The  Rambler."  — Our  Bonny  Ocean  Home.  — Letters 
on  the  College-Steamship  Enterprise,  — Raed's  Suggestion  to  Wade. 
— Nut-Gathering  on  a  Grand  Scale.  — We  take  Leave  of  our  South 
ern  Hosts.  —  Our  Fair  Passengers.  —  Down  the  Amazons.  —  Sheeted 
Home.  — The  Homeward  Voyage.  — Those  Nuts  .  .  .  .171 


10  CONTENTS. 


SECOND  YACHT-CRUISE  IN  HUDSON  BAY. 

PAGE. 

THE  COLLEGE  STEAMSHIP 181 

A  SCENE  IN  HUDSON  STRAITS  .       .       , 184 

A  HUSKY  FUNERAL , 190 

MUCK-MHAMEER , 196 

ISLE  AKTOK  REVISITED.— THE  BELLE  OF  BAR-A.FAK        .       .       .201 

A  FIGHT  WITH  SEA-HORSES 211 

THE  LAIR  OF  A  BEAR  AND  CUBS 217 

AN  ATHAPUSCOW  SWEAT 224 

THE  "  IRON.  STONE  "  OF  WAGER  INLET 230 

THE  BEAR  AND  THE  CANNON-RIFLE 242 

THE  FALL  OF  A  RED  METEOR 247 

A  COUPLE  OF  "ENOUGHS" 252 

THE  OLYMPIC  GAMES  IN  AMERICA  ...,,,..  256 

A  STILL  LATER  DECISION                                    .                           .  268 


ON  THE  AMAZONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

St.  Helena.  —  Voyage  from  St.  Helena  to  Para.  —  A  Sail.  —  A 
Singular  Sort  of  Craft.  The  "Zang-gay-dy."  —  Land-ho !  — 
Olinda.  —  The  Tijoca.  —  Off  the  Mouth  of  the  Amazons.  —  The 
Bore.  — Para.  —  Decide  to  leave  the  Yacht  at  Para. 

AIL-HO  ! "  Wonderfully  long-drawn  and  musical 
it  sounded  in  our  drowsy  ears  that  morning,  —  our 
eleventh  morning  from  St.  Helena :  for  we  could  not 
consider  our  yacht-cruise  along  the  Old  World  complete 
till  we  had  crossed  "  earth's  central  line  "  to  visit  the 

"  Lone  barren  isle  where  the  wild  roaring  billow 
Assails  the  stern  rock,  and  the  loud  tempests  roar ;  " 

where  the  "hero"  —  whose  dazzling  military  exploits, 
as  recounted  on  the  roseate  pages  of  Abbott,  had  been 
the  admiration  of  our  earlier  boyhood  — 

"  Lies  still  'neath  the  dew-drooping  willow." 

(Only  he  doesn't  lie  there  now,  by  any  means.) 

11 


12  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

Our  own  fault,  very  likely ;  but  St.  Helena  disappointed 
us  not  a  little,  either  because  we  have  come  to  doubt  the 
intrinsic  grandeur  of  Napoleon's  career,  or  from  the  grim, 
volcanic  aspect  of  the  islet. 

The  house  where  the  ex-eraperor  lived  is  sadly  un- 
romantic ;  and  even  the  damp  vale  where  he  was  buried 
fails  to  impress  the  matter-of-fact  beholder.  As  my 
comrade  B-aed  remarks,  "  A  visit  here  spoils  a  pleas 
ant  illusion,  conjured  by  youthful  fancies  with  the  help 
of  Mr.  Abbott/' 

We  were  now  well  in  upon  the  coast  of  South  Ameri 
ca  ;  yet  not  a  sail  had  we  sighted  during  the  whole 
eleven  days  of  our  voyage.  It  may  be  readily  imagined, 
therefore,  that  the  above  hail  turned  us  out,  glass  in 
hand,  with  all  the  curiosity  of  voyagers  whose  ocean-sick 
eyes  are  pining  for  a  living  object. 

Distinct,  off  the  port-bow,  a  single  white  sail  showed 
farther  off  than  it  really  was.  During  the  next  half- 
hour  we  had  visibly  approached  it.  "  The  Kambler," 
with  her  sails  goose-winged  to  the  steady  south-easfc 
trades,  bowled  swiftly  westward ;  and  the  stranger  was 
beating  to  north-east. 

"  Queer-looking  craft !  "  exclaimed  our  skipper  (Ma- 
zard)  at  length.  "  Not  so  far  off  as  she  looks." 

"But  she's  still  hull  down,"  remarked  Wade  (Mr. 
Additon). 

"Well,  that's  just  what  gets  me!"  interrupted  the 
skipper.  "She's  not  ten  miles  off;  and  I  can  see  noth 
ing  but  the  sail  with  the  glass,  —  a  lateen-sail,  it  looks 
to  be.  .  .  .  Some  outlandish  craft  or  other." 

It  puzzled  us  more  and  more  during  the  next  twenty 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  13 

minutes,  even  when,  within  four  or  five  miles,  we  could 
not  make  her  out. 

"  It's  a  wreck,"  Raed  had  pronounced. 

"No;  it's  a  raft,"  said  Kit. 

"  We  shall  have  to  take  'em  off,  I  suppose,"  growled 
the  skipper,  —  "a  lot  of  starved  wretches,  dirty  and 
sick,  perhaps  crazy." 

Thus  a  skipper  reasons  when  confronted  at  sea  with 
the  glorious  opportunity  of  saving  human  life.  He 
thinks  of  the  disease  and  filth  the  sufferers  may  have 
on  them,  and  of  the  "pile  o'  grub"  they  will  eat  :  very 
naturally  too ;  for  shipwrecked  people  rarely  pay  their 
rescuers  in  any  thing  but  thanks,  and,  in  the  end,  grum 
blings  at  being  carried  out  of  their  course. 

"Oh,  it's  a  raft  fast  enough  !"  E-aed  pronounced  when 
we  were  within  a  mile.  "  Heading  straight  across  our 
bows.  .  .  .  Got  a  sort  of  hut  built  on  it  to  protect  them 
from  the  weather.  And  there  are  one,  two,  three,  of 
them,  and  a  woman !  and  a  child  too !  Fellows,  this  is 
getting  interesting.  .  .  .  But  why  don't  they  make 
signals  ?  " 

At  the  rate  we  were  sailing,  we  should  have  left  the 
raft  on  our  port-quarter.  The  helm  was  therefore  set 
a-starboard,  and  the  order  given  to  stand  by  the  sheets. 

Judge  of  our  surprise,  then,  to  see  the  raft  tacking 
rapidly  to  avoid  us  !  They  went  sharply  round  to 
south-west,  and  were  actually  making  off  from  us  ! 

"Well,  don't  that  beat  the  Dutch?"  cried  Capt. 
Hazard. 

Old  Trull  (whom  we  had  got  back  on  the  yacht 
again)  was  standing  by  the  main-sheet.  He  beckoned 
to  me.  I  went  forward. 


14  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

"  That  'ere's  no  raft  o'  shipwracked  folks,"  said  he  in 
a  rather  sheepish  and  confidential  way,  giving  his  tarry 
waisthand  a  hitch. 

"  Well,  what  is  it,  then  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  That  'ere's  a  zang-gay-dy" 

"  A  what  ?  " 

"  A  zang-gay-dy." 

"What's  that?" 

"  Aw !  et's  a  sort  o'  rarft,  sech  as  tham  Parnambauco 
fellers  ketch  fish  on.  They  don't  want  nothin'  uv  us. 
They're  all  right." 

I  lost  no  time  in  communicating  this  piece  of  nauti 
cal  information  to  the  others,  including  the  skipper. 
That  worthy  navigator  immediately  took  a  second  look. 

K/aed  and  Kit  burst  out  in  a  hearty  laugh. 

"As  well  set  our  helm  a-port  again,"  said  Wade 
amusedly. 

"No,  by  the  Trident!"  rallied  the  skipper.  "I'm 
coming  alongside.  I'll  know  that  craft  the  next  time  I 
meet  it." 

In  a  few  minutes  we  were  close  upon  the  mysterious 
raft;  and,  though  they  immediately  tacked  again  to  get 
away  from  us,  we  passed  them  at  scarcely  half  a  cable's 
length  to  leeward. 

The  reader  can  well  believe  that  we  eyed  it  curiously 
enough  now.  It  seemed  to  be  made  of  five  or  six  large 
logs,  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  long,  lashed  securely 
together.  Across  these  ran  six  or  eight  thwarts,  elevat 
ed  on  pins,  or  legs,  a  foot  and  a  half  high  ;  and  the  hut. 
which,  quaintly  enough,  was  thatched  with  palm-leaves, 
was  set  on  a  platform  similarly  elevated.  Even  with  the 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  15 

waves  breaking  over  the  logs,  the  raftsmen  would  still 
be  dry-shod. 

From  the  stern  of  this  singular  vessel  projected  a  long, 
broad,  steering  oar;  and  their  anchor,  to  which  Kit  di 
rected  my  attention,  was  a  large  stone  set  in  a  stout 
frame  of  wood,  to  which  was  be-nt  a  brown  cable. 

The  sail  was  as  large  as  "  The  Kambler's  "  jib,  of 
triangular  shape,  and  attached  to  a  strong  mast,  stepped 
in  the  centre  log,  pretty  well  forward,  and  of  lateen-rig, 
like  that  of  a  Malay  felucca  or  a  xebec. 

Raed  took  the  trumpet,  and  hailed  them ;  but  they 
made  no  response,  and  seemed  in  some  alarm  at  our  evo 
lutions  to  lay  them  alongside.  Not  till  after  we  were 
fairly  half  a  mile  away  did  they  come  round  upon  their 
former  course. 

From  the  light  draught  of  our  yacht,  its  speed  and 
the  cannon,  I  have  a  lurking  suspicion  that  they  took  us 
for  a  free  rover. 

We  afterwards  took  occasion  to  post  up  a  little  on 
zangadas.  Like  the  catamarans  of  Madras,  the  zan- 
gadas  of  Pernambuco  are  peculiar  to  that  harbor  and  the 
neighboring  ports.  They  are  quite  generally  used  by 
the  fishermen  of  that  coast.  From  the  height  at  which 
the  one  we  fell  in  with  floated  in  the  water,  I  think  the 
logs  must  be  of  some  more  than  ordinarily  buoyant  wood. 
What  tree  it  was,  or  yet  whether  they  are  always  con 
structed  of  the  same  kind  of  wood,  I  was  not  able  to 
learn  at  Para. 

I  recall  the  incident  of  the  zangada  as  our  first  intro 
duction  to  the  continent  of  South  America ;  though  it 
was  not  till  near  noon  that  the  cry  of  "Land-ho  "  brought 


16  ON  THE   AMAZONS. 

us  again  on  deck  to  see  the  pale  blue  coast-line,  and, 
shortly  after,  the  white  chacaras  of  the  picturesque 
(through  a  glass)  town  of  Olinda. 

After  that  we  were  rarely  out  of  sight  of  the  land,  dis 
tant  forty  and  fifty  miles. 

That  night  we  were  off  Cape  St.  Eoque. 

Four  days  later,  we  saw  the  white  breakers  along  the 
Tijoca,  or  Braganza  "  bank ; "  and,  soon  after,  patches  of 
yellow  water  welling  up  amid  the  sea-green  of  the  ocean. 
We  were  off  the  broad  mouth  of  the  Rio  das  Amazonas. 

Ugly  stories  had  been  told  us  of  the  "  bore,"  or  proro- 
cora,  of  the  Amazons,  caused  by  the  tide  meeting  the 
outcoming  current  of  the  river ;  and  we  had  decided  to 
leave  "  The  Rambler"  at  Para.  Immediately,  therefore, 
on  sighting  Cape  Magoary,  the  south-eastern  point  of 
the  great  Marajo  Island  (the  Isle  Johannes  of  some 
geographers),  we  went  on  our  port-tack,  and  stood  up  into 
the  estuary  of  the  Tocantins. 

Amid  vivid  green  islands  the  estuary  slowly  opened 
back  till  three  (afternoon),  when  the  helm  was  set  a-star- 
board,  and  we  came  round  into  the  beautiful  Bay  of 
Goajora,  and,  an  hour  later,  dropped  anchor  in  front  of 
Para. 

To  our  Northern  eyes  the  scene  was  as  strangely  novel 
as  picturesque. 

Para  —  or,  to  give  it  its  full  title,  Santa  Maria  de 
Belem  do  gram  Para — is,  when  viewed  from  the  harbor, 
a  very  fine-looking  city  of  rising  forty  thousand  inhabit 
ants.  Along  its  wharves  stand  rows  of  well-built  ware 
houses.  The  custom-house  and  other  government-build 
ings  have  a  fine,  stately  look ;  while  over  and  beyond 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  17 

these  are  seen  church-domes  and  many  spires.  Sur 
rounding  it,  and  in  its  very  suburbs,  the  tropical  forest 
seems  a  verdant  frame,  flecked  here  and  there  with  a 
white  and  glittering  rocinka,  or  villa,  the  residence  of 
some  wealthy  merchant. 

There  were  five  American  vessels  in  the  harbor; 
several  English  ships ;  and  we  counted  no  less  than  a 
dozen  Spanish  and  Portuguese  brigantines. 

Para  is  the  chief  emporium  and  trade  depot  of  the 
Amazons  region ;  and  its  growth  during  the  past  ten  or 
fifteen  years  has  rivalled  our  own  Western  cities. 

But,  like  all  Spanish,  Portuguese,  and  American  towns, 
the  first  view  taken  at  a  poetical  distance  is  much  the 
more  satisfactory.  Once  inside  the  place,  the  street- 
scenery  is  far  from  enchanting.  We  found  Para  no  ex 
ception  to  this  general  rule ;  though  the  Diana  Hotel, 
where  we  passed  our  first  night  ashore,  is,  in  all  respects, 
a  first-class  public-house.  Here  we  had  genuine  wheat- 
en  biscuits,  coffee,  a  beefsteak,  mandioca-bread,  oranges, 
bananas,  ice-water,  and  ice-cream.  The  proprietors 
have  the  true  cosmopolitan  idea  of  things. 

But,  as  it  is  not  of  Para  that  our  record  is  written,  I 
hasten  over  these  minor  incidents. 

A  good  anchorage  was  secured  for  the  yacht;  and, 
leaving  Capt.  Hazard  and  our  crew  to  enjoy  themselves 
as  best  they  might,  we  four  young  gentlemen  (whom 
our  former  readers  have  known  as  the  "  Young  Yacht- 
ers  ")  embarked  at  six  next  morning  on  board  the  Bra 
zilian  steamer  "  Tapajos,"  bound  up  the  Bio  das  Ama- 

zonas. 

2 


CHAPTER  II. 

On  board  "The  Tapajos." — Threading  the  Tajapuru  Bayou.— 
The  Indians  of  the  Amazons.  —  Breves.  —  Our  First  View  of  the 
Great  River.  —  Palms  and  Samaumas.  —  Monte  Alegre.  —  San- 
tarem.  —  Obydos.  —  Steamer  aground.  —  Portuguese  Swearing. 
—  The  Mouth  of  the  Trombetas.  —  Capt.  Additon's  Sitio.  —  The 
"Stars  and  Bars."  —  Ex-Private  Sanders  of  the  C.  A.  —  Our 
Meeting  with  Capt.  Additon.  —  Wade's  Sisters.  —  Sisterly  Greet 
ings.  —  The  Fazenda.  —  A  Punka.  —  Tropical  Heat.  —  A  Cotton- 
Field.  —  Major  Lowrie. 

OUR  motives  for  going  up  the  Amazons  were  two 
fold  :  first,  our  desire  to  visit  a  region  so  rich  in 
interest,  and  so  comparatively  unknown ;  second,  and 
more  especially,  to  allow  our  fellow-yachter,  Mr.  Wade 
Additon,  an  opportunity  of  visiting  his  family,  now  liv 
ing  on  a  plantation  a  little  above  the  mouth  of  the  Trom 
betas,  which  Hows  into  the  Amazons  to  the  west  of  Oby 
dos,  some  seven  hundred  miles  from  Para.* 

*  The  readers  of  our  former  narratives  will  remember  that  Capt.  Additon 
of  the  Confederate  army  was  one  of  those  spirited  gentlemen  who  coun- 
gelled,  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  a  wholesale  emigration  of 
the  Southern  people  to  Brazil,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  slave  em- 
pire  in  the  valley  of  the  Amazons  River.  From  various  reasons  the  scheme 
was  abandoned.  Capt.  Additon,  however,  together  with  several  other  Con- 
federates,  did  actually  go  to  Brazil,  and  has  established  himself  there  an  a 
citizen  of  that  empire. 
18 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  19 

For  several  hours  the  estuary  of  the  Tocantins,  like 
some  broad  lake,  opened  spaciously  before  us.  At  nine 
we  were  off  the  mouth  of  the  river  proper,  where  it 
flows  into  the  estuary  ;  but  it  was  not  till  late  in  the  day 
that  we  reached  the  head  of  the  gulf,  and  entered  one 
of  the  numerous  bayous,  or  paranas,  which  connect  the 
main  channel  of  the  Amazons  with  that  of  the  Tocan 
tins,  on  the  west  side  of  Marajo  Island. 

Whether  the  Amazons  flows  partly  into  the  Tocantins, 
or  the  Tocantins  into  the  Amazons,  is  an  open  question. 
The  connecting  bayous  have  little  or  no  current;  and 
possibly  what  there  is  may  be  variable,  according  as  one 
or  the  other  of  the  rivers  is  the  higher. 

The  parana  taken  by  our  steamer  was  called  o  Taja- 
puru :  it  is  the  one  generally  followed  by  the  steamers, 
but  does  not  average  over  seventy  yards  in  breadth,  vary 
ing  from  fifty  to  a  hundred. 

Here  every  thing  had  a  truly  tropical  look.  Palm- 
trees  were  standing  all  about,  their  Indian  plumes  held 
high  over  the  jungles  which  bordered  the  muddy  banks, 
and  which  presented  a  wall  of  huge  green  leaves  and 
rankly  climbing  vines. 

Farther  along,  forests  of  large  trees  grew  on  both 
sides.  In  one  place  some  lofty  samaumas  —  a  large  and 
broad-branching  tree,  which  often  attains  a  height  of 
two  hundred  feet  —  seemed  fairly  to  interlock  over  the 
bayou.  The  smoke  from  the  steamer's  funnel  curled  up 
through  the  green  leaves,  scaring  a  flock  of  parrots,  that 
cawed  and  jabbered  energetically  as  they  sniffed  it. 

All  that  day  we  sat  under  the  awning,  on  deck,  feast 
ing  our  e}res  on  the  leafy  luxuriance  of  the  shores,  so 


20  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

near  as  to  almost  brush  us  passing ;  nor  did  we  go  down 
to  our  berths  till  long  past  eleven  o'clock  that  evening, 
when  the  steamer  stopped  at  a  dingy  station  called 
Breves.  Here  we  had  our  first  sight  of  the  dark-skinned 
Indians  of  the  country,  —  dark  as  negroes,  but  with 
the  long,  straight  hair  of  our  Northern  tribes.  But, 
unlike  our  Western  savages,  however,  the  Indians  of  the 
Lower  Amazons  seem  always  a  partially-civilized  people. 
There  is  nought  of  the  whooping,  tomahawking  air  about 
them. 

On  the  second  morning  after  leaving  Para,  at  about 
half-past  nine  o'clock,  "The  Tapajos"  emerged  from  the 
narrow  channel  of  the  bayou,  and  steamed  out  upon  the 
Amazons  proper. 

It  was  with  curious  feelings  that  we  gazed  about  us, 
and  tried  to  realize  that  we  were  indeed  on  that  famous 
stream.  But,  at  this  point,  no  true  idea  of  its  volume 
and  breadth  could  be  gained.  Islands  intercepted  the 
view :  the  river  is  here  studded  with  them.  It  seemed 
like  a  great  lake  set  with  numerous  islets.  But  toward 
noon  the  boat  got  past  these ;  and  we  then  saw  the  broad 
river  before  us,  fully  ten  miles  in  width,  with  consider 
able  current  too.  There  is  an  air  of  regal  grandeur  in 
the  majestic  sweep  with  which  it  comes  pouring  out 
from  the  heart  of  the  continent,  showing  a  clear  water 
sky  to  the  west.  Surely  the  title  of  "  Queen  of  Waters  " 
is  no  misnomer.  So  great,  indeed,  is  the  river,  that  it 
belittles  its  shores,  which  here  seem  very  far  off  and  low ; 
while  the  steamer  itself  is  but  a  creeping  mote  on  its 
mighty  expanse. 

A  little  later  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Xingu,  the 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  21 

first  of  the  larger  tributaries  on  the  southern  bank  aa 
you  ascend  the  river,  itself  a  river  of  more  than  a  thou 
sand  miles  in  length.  Here  the  main  channel  is  yet 
broader.  Off  to  the  north-west  a  chain  of  hills  is  seen, 
blue  and  distant  over  the  northern  shore,  —  the  blue  hills 
of  Almeyrem.  It  may  be  remarked  that  this  range  con 
tinues  visible  at  intervals  for  nearly  a  hundred  miles 
going  up. 

Aside  from  these  distant  headlands  the  country  seems 
perfectly  level,  an  unbroken  expanse  of  river  and  pri 
meval  forest ;  the  river  stretching  off  due  west  in  a  wide 
zone  till  the  blue  sky  shuts  down  upon  it.  It  seemed 
to  me  one  of  the  grandest  natural  objects  I  had  ever 
beheld,  it  was  so  vast  and  mighty  of  its  kind. 

During  the  day  we  met  a  number  of  steamers  :  one 
was  from  up  the  Madeira  River,  the  third  great  tributary 
stream  above  the  Tocantins  on  the  south  side,  and  dis 
tant  above  Para  nine  hundred  miles.  The  Madeira  itself 
is  nearly  twenty-two  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  has 
its  sources  in  Bolivia,  near  Sucre. 

Much  of  the  Bolivian  trade  comes  down  the  Madeira, 
we  were  told. 

Another  of  the  steamers  was  from  Iquitos,  a  town  on 
the  Amazons,  in  Peru,  distant  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  over  two  thousand  miles  ;  and  still  another  was 
/rom  Nauta,  a  village  farther  up  in  Peru,  distant  twenty- 
three  hundred  miles. 

These  steamers  were  boats  of  fully  three  hundred  tons 
burden.  Some  idea  of  the  volume  and  length  of  the 
river  can  be  gathered  from  these  facts. 

By  means  of  the  Amazons,  both  Peru  and  Bolivia 
h%ye  become  practically  Atlantic  States. 


22  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

I  think  we  might  easily  have  taken  our  yacht  up  for 
a  thousand  miles :  in  fact,  all  sorts  of  crafts  ply  here, 
since  the  Free  Navigation  Act,  passed  by  the  general 
government  at  Rio  Janeiro,  1865-66.  We  saw  schooners 
on  the  river.  Nowhere  below  the  Trombetas  did  we 
see  the  channel  less  than  four  miles  wide :  this  would 
give  ample  room  for  all  sorts  of  nautical  evolutions.  "  The 
Great  Eastern  "  itself  would  find  water  enough  anywhere 
below  the  confluence  with  the  Madeira.  The  only  ob 
stacle  is  the  current ;  and  we  all  felt  sure  that  "  The 
Rambler  "  would  have  breasted  it,  and  made  fair  head 
way  with  the  breeze  we  had  each  day  aboard  "  The  Tapa- 
jos." 

We  were  told,  and  afterwards  had  reason  to  believe, 
that  the  Amazons  is  subject  to  squalls  and  sharp  gales  of 
wind,  which  raise  a  considerable  sea,  sufficient  to  toss 
about,  and  sometimes  swamp,  the  lighter  craft,  —  the  cu- 
lertas  and  montarias,  the  scows  and  the  canoes. 

There  are  few  towns  as  yet  on  the  lower  course  of  the 
river ;  and  the  most  of  these  are  merely  so  many  collec 
tions  of  wretched  huts,  where  live  a  few  turtlers  and  other 
fishers. 

Toward  night  the  steamer  stopped  for  an  hour  at 
Monte  Alegre,  —  a  very  pretty  town,  surrounded  by  open 
campas,  or  plains.  Stock-raising  and  export,  we  were 
told,  was  the  business  here  followed. 

Another  night  on  the  great  river. 

When  we  woke,  we  found  that  the  boat  had  stopped. 
We  were  at  Santarem,  —  a  large  but  rather  dismal  town, 
BO  far  as  its  appearance  from  the  steamer's  deck  bespoke 
it.  After  Para,  Santarem  is  the  largest  city  of  the 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  23 

Amazons.  The  India-rubber  of  tbe  country  is  the  chief 
staple  of  its  trade. 

The  sun  was  just  rising  as  the  steamer  swung  clear  of 
the  wharf,  and  steamed  out  past  the  mouth  of  the  Ta- 
pajos  River,  —  another  thousand-mile  tributary  which 
here  makes  in. 

It  took  twenty  minutes  to  cross  to  the  northern  bank 
of  the  river  at  this  point.  Steamers,  as  well  as  the 
smaller  craft,  keep  to  the  northern  bank,  where  there  are 
fewer  islands. 

An  hour  later,  another  town  was  passed,  the  name  of 
which,  as  we  understood  it,  was  Alerequar.  Shortly 
afterwards,  Obydos  was  reached.  Here  the  discharge 
of  freight  detained  the  boat  till  late  in  the  evening,  —  a 
circumstance  which  gave  us  some  uneasiness.  Capt. 
Additon's  plantation  was  not  more  than  thirty  miles 
farther  up ;  and  we  should  now  necessarily  arrive  in 
the  night.  Beyond  an  indefinite  letter  written  from 
Fayal  six  weeks  previously,  Wade  had  been  unable  to 
notify  his  family  of  our  approach.  They  would  hardly 
be  looking  for  us  on  this  particular  day. 

Added  to  this  perplexity,  the  captain  of  the  steamer 
was  a  "  new  man,"  who  knew  nothing  of  the  Additon 
"  sitio"  as  a  plantation  is  here  called.  Wade  had  never 
been  on  the  river  before  ;  but  he  had  received  directions 
by  letter.  These  stated  that  the  plantation  was  situated 
on  the  north  shore  of  the  river,  about  six  miles  above  the 
Bio  Trombetas. 

But  how  were  we  to  see  the  mouth  of  the  Trombetas 
in  the  night,  or  tell  when  the  six  miles  were  passed  ? 
Fortunately,  the  old  half-caste  engineer  remembered  the 


24  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

steamer's  stopping  to  ship  freight  for  Senhor  Additon  on 
several  former  occasions.  He  thought  he  knew  about 
where  it  was ;  and  we  so  far  enlisted  his  good-will  that  he 
promised  to  keep  watch,  and  stop  the  engine  when  we 
came  off  abreast  thesitio.  We  could  then  land  from  the 
steamer's  boat. 

But  even  this  was  not  very  re-assuring.  Somehow,  a 
Yankee  can't  feel  much  confidence  in  Brazilians.  They 
don't  act  just  right.  I  could  imagine  how  our  skipper 
would  cast  his  eye  about  that  steamer,  and  grin. 

It  was  after  ten,  P.M.,  before  we  left  Obydos.  We  did 
not  go  down  to  our  berths  at  all,  but  kept  on  deck,  on 
the  lookout. 

At  a  few  minutes  before  twelve,  while  puffing  slowly 
along  quite  near  the  shore,  the  boat  stopped  with  a  sud 
den  grind  into  a  bank  of  sand  and  mud  which  shifting 
currents  had  piled  up.  So  violent  was  the  poke,  that  I 
wonder  the  old  funnel  had  not  gone  overboard.  Then 
came  a  scene,  which,  at  any  other  time,  would  have  made 
us  roar  with  laughter.  Such  a  to-do  ! 

The  engineer  in  his  excitement  did  not  get  the  steam 
turned  off  for  a  minute  or  over ;  and  there  the  boat  swayed 
and  wriggled,  with  the  paddle-wheels  still  turning  / 
Finally  they  got  the  engine  reversed,  and  put  on  a  full 
head  to  back  off;  but  so  forceful  had  been  the  shock,  that 
the  steamer  stuck  fast. 

"  Reckon  we're  stalled  for  the  rest  of  the  night,"  said 
Wade. 

"Yes,  fellows,  we're  'sot,'  as  my  old  grandfather 
would  say,"  Kit  remarked. 

Everybody  was  ordered  astern  to  lighten  the  bows. 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  25 

For  an  hour  and  over,  the  paddles  were  kept  revolving 
with  plenty  of  outlandish  swearing,  but  which,  somehow, 
lacked  the  vim  of  our  North- American  oaths.  If  we  had 
only  had  half  a  dozen  Western  miners  and  teamsters  there, 
I  am  inclined  to  think  they  would  have  sworn  her  afloat ; 
but  all  this  Portuguese  cursing  had  a  soft  milk-and-water 
sound.  Nothing  started  under  it :  wasn't  ferocious 
enough. 

A.t  last  —  why  they  had  not  done  it  at  first  was  not 
very  clear  —  the  anchor  was  carried  back  in  the  steamer's 
boat  twenty  or  thirty  yards,  and  sunk  in  the  mud,  in 
order  to  drag  the  steamer  back  upon  it.  This  manoeuvre 
got  us  off,  after  a  detention  of  only  three  hours  and  a 
half! 

I  suppose  they  did  the  best  they  could  ;  but  they  had  a 
rather  queer  way  of  going  about  it. 

On  again  for  an  hour. 

By  this  time  day  had  broken. 

We  were  now  off  an  inlet  on  the  north  shore,  which 
the  engineer  told  us  was  the  mouth  of  the  Trombetas. 
Half  an  hour  later  we  were  eying  the  shore  with  the 
closest  attention,  as  the  steamer  ran  on  at  about  a  hun 
dred  rods  from  the  bank:  and  when,  as  we  judged,  she 
had  gone  six  miles  and  rising  since  passing  the  Trom 
betas,  our  anxiety  had  increased  to  fever-heat ;  for  still 
the  shores  presented  the  same  green  jungle,  surmounted 
by  lofty  palms  and  seringas. 

Wade  was  still  more  anxious  than  the  rest  of  us;  and 
I  could  see  that  he  was  also  profoundly  moved  at  the 
thought  of  visiting  his  family,  settled  here  in  this  half- 
savage  country.  How  should  we  find  them  situated? 


26  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

Would  his  mother  and  sisters  seem  as  when  he  parted 
from  them  two  years  before  ?  His  father  he  had  not  seen 
for  five  years.  What  changes  in  his  looks,  and  even  in 
his  character,  might  he  not  expect  ? 

J  could  fancy  what  thoughts  were  passing  in  his  mind 
as  we  scanned  the  shore  for  some  token  of  civilization. 

But  our  apprehensions  of  passing  the  place  unwittingly 
were  quite  needless.  A  little  farther  on,  a  broad  gap  in 
the  forest  opened  into  a  wide  clearing,  running  back  from 
the  river.  A  new  wharf  of  freshly-hewn  timbers  ex 
tended  for  a  hundred  feet  or  over  along  the  bank ;  and,  lo  ! 
a  tall  flag-staff,  surmounted  by  a  red  signal-lantern  still 
burning,  with  a  gay  flag  streaming  brightly  out. 

"  The  stars  and  stripes ! "  exclaimed  Kit.    "  Hurrah  ! " 

u  Not  the  stars  and  stripes  exactly,"  remarked  Raed 
quietly. 

"  Ah  ! "    Kit  had  discovered  his  mistake. 

It  was,  as  I  regret  to  say,  the  "stars  and  bars." 

We  involuntarily  glanced  to  Wade. 

He  flushed. 

A  genuine  Southerner  at  heart,  I  still  fancied  he 
would  rather  not  have  found  the  Confederate  flag  flying 
here  ;  possibly  because  it  reminded  him  of  defeat  merely, 
but  rather,  I  thought,  that  he  felt  it  bordering  just  the 
least  bit  on  the  ridiculous. 

A  five-years'  residence  in  the  North,  connected  with 
our  yacht- voyages,  has  enabled  him  to  view  things  in  a 
better  light,  and  be  a  patriot  without  being  a  fanatic. 

To  fly,  in  this  out-the-way  corner  of  the  world,  a  flag 
that  had  been  so  ignominiously  " kicked  out"  of  a 
country  where  it  had  sought  to  be  supreme,  might  seem  to 
some  plucky,  but  to  others  simply  spiteful. 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  27 

Nevertheless,  I  am  bound  to  say,  that,  just  at  that 
time,  we  were  all  too  glad  to  see  any  sort  of  a  flag 
that  represented  Americans. 

"  Well,  fellows,  I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  make  the 
best  of  all  this ! "  Wade  exclaimed  with  a  nervous 
laugh,  as  if  he  had  not  known  us  too  well  to  doubt  it. 
But  I  think,  for  a  moment,  he  doubted  himself. 

The  sea-chest  we  had  taken  with  us  was  lowered  into 
the  steamer's  boat,  together  with  our  portmanteaus. 
We  followed  them,  and  were  immediately  rowed  to  the 
wharf. 

As  we  drew  near  it,  a  heavily-bearded  man,  bronzed 
and  formidable,  clad  in  "  butternut "  and  armed  with  a 
carbine,  came  martially  forward.  A  horrible  suspicion 
that  this  was  Capt.  Additon  himself  seized  me. 

"  Who's  there  ?  "  he  gruffly  demanded  (dropping  the 
carbine  to  a  "  charge  bayonet"). 

Wade  jumped  upon  the  wharf  with  a  laugh. 

"  Sanders,  old  man,  don't  you  know  me  ?  "  (A  load 
rolled  off  my  mind.) 

"  Sanders,"  thus  addressed,  stared  a  moment ;  then  a 
grin  of  such  evident  pleasure  overspread  his  rough  face 
as  to  quite  beautify  it. 

"  Dern  my  skin,"  he  ejaculated,  and  suddenly  letting 
the  carbine-breech  drop  on  the  planks,  "  ef  it  ain't 
the  young  gentleman !" 

Wade  held  out  his  hand.  The  man  seized  it  in  both 
his  own. 

"Thar,  ef  this  yere  ain't  jest  hunkey  !  —  ter  see  yer 
down  yere  with  us  once  mo' ! " 

"  Well,  how  are  they  all  ?  "  Wade  anxiously  asked. 


28  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

"  Oh !  they're  chirk.  The  cap'n  an'  yer  maw  are  right 
smart.  Thar,  ef  it  don't  jest  do  my  body  good  ter  see 
yer ! " 

In  this  burst  of  rough  affection  I  gained  a  sudden 
glimpse  of  the  wonderful  fealty  with  which  the  South 
ern  "  low-downer "  stood  b}7  the  "  lost  cause."  No 
henchman  of  feudal  days  could  have  greeted  his  young 
lord  with  greater  delight. 

"  See  to  our  chest  and  things,  Sanders,"  said  Wade. 
"  These  are  comrades  of  mine  "  (with  a  nod  towards 
us).  "Where  is  the  house  ?" 

"  Foller  that  yer  pawth.  It's  in  the  grove  yend 
But  look  out  fer  Johnson  :  he  don't  know  yer  like  I  do." 

"  One  of  the  privates  in  father's  company,"  Wade 
explained  to  us  as  we  went  along  the  "  pawth."  "  And 
Johnson's  another.  Father  brought  them  down  here 
with  him.  Bough  fellows,  but  first-rate  soldiers." 

The  sun  was  just  rising. 

"  Nobody  astir  yet,  I'll  wager,"  laughed  Wade.  "  But 
come  on.  We  will  rouse  them." 

Thefazenda  house,  corresponding  to  the  "great  house" 
of  the  Southern  plantations,  was  situated  four  or  five 
hundred  meters  back  from  the  river,  on  lightly-rising 
ground,  and  built  in  the  midst  of  a  grove  of  seringas 
(Siphonia  elastica),  of  which  the  smooth,  red-gray 
trunks  seemed  to  spring,  mushroom-like,  from  out  the 
rich,  rank  soil. 

To  build  so  large  a  house  in  the  midst  of  a  grove  so 
dense  must  have  been  a  work  of  some  little  difficult}7 ; 
amply  repaid,  however,  by  the  shade  thus  preserved.  A 
belt  of  these  seringas,  several  rods  in  breadth,  had  been 


ON  THE   AMAZONS.  29 

left  all  the  way  from  the  landing  up  to  the  grove  which 
shaded  the  house.  Amid  these  wound  the  path,  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  exposed  to  the  full  blaze  of 
the  sun,  —  a  sun  which,  at  noon,  casts  no  shadow.  On 
the  wide  veranda  another  grim  sentinel  in  butternut 
was  pacing  to  and  fro,  —  Johnson,  no  doubt.  But,  ere 
we  were  near  enough  to  draw  his  challenge,  a  tall, 
elderly  gentleman  appeared  in  the  open  hall-door,  and 
glanced  sharply  at  us.  He  was  of  erect  and  soldierly 
bearing,  and  had  a  full,  gray  mustache,  and  clear,  brown 
complexion.  As  his  eye  fell  on  us,  his  whole  coun 
tenance  lighted  up. 

"  Wade,  my  boy  ! "  he  exclaimed ;  and  Wade  sprang 
forward,  and,  with  head  bowed,  seized  his  father's  hand 
in  silent  emotion. 

We  naturally  held  back  till  father  and  son  had  inter 
changed  greetings. 

"  You  are  welcome  home,  Wade  !  "  Capt.  Additon  was 
saying,  —  "  heartily  welcome  !  We  have  got  a  place 
here.  It  is  not  South  Carolina;  but  I  am  glad  to  have 
you  here." 

He  spoke  with  feeling.  I  could  not  doubt  that  he  felt 
a  strong  affection  for  Wade,  who  now  turned  to  make  us 
known  to  his  father. 

For  my  own  part,  I  felt  no  little  embarrassment,  there, 
under  the  shadow  of  a  Confederate  flag,  how  to  befitting- 
ly  deport  myself  toward  this  unswerving  and  persistent 
enemy  of  our  common  country.  Capt.  Additon  is  my 
uncle  by  marriage  with  my  father's  sister ;  but  I  had 
never  met  him  till  now.  I  knew,  that,  during  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion,  my  own  father  had  regarded  him  as  a 


30  ON  THE   AMAZONS. 

traitor  and  a  rebel.  Still  these  things  are  now  quite 
past.  I  decided  to  greet  him  as  a  relative,  and  the 
father  of  a  dear  friend,  —  several  dear  friends,  if  I 
may  thus  include  my  pretty  cousins,  —  and  let  politics 
keep  the  background. 

Kaed  and  Kit  seemed  to  have  thought  so  too.  They 
had  both  removed  their  hats,  and  bowed  filially;  while 
Capt.  Additon  shook  each  warmly  by  the  hand,  with 
a  gush  of  that  olden  hospitality  of  which  no  change  of 
country  can  rob  a  true  son  of  the  Southern  States.  Mis 
taken,  and  imbittered  by  defeat,  he  may  become ;  but 
give  him  the  opportunity  to  do  the  honors  of  his  house 
to  a  visitor,  and  he  is  still  the  most  genial  of  hosts. 
Henry  Clay  was  said  to  have  been  a  most  fascinating 
companion  for  young  men,  even  in  his  later  years,  and 
to  have  moulded  their  characters  at  will.  I  thought  of 
it  as  Capt.  Additon  cried  out  to  us  all,  — 

"  Come  now,  my  dear  }Toung  fellows  !  let  me  have  the 
pleasure  of  making  you  at  home  in  my  fazenda  here. 
Not  a  palace,  by  any  means ;  but  it  has  both  walls  and 
roof,  to  the  full  benefit  of  which  you  are  all  —  I  need 
hardly  say  it  —  most  heartily  welcome." 

He  turned  ;  when  a  still  more  pleasing  re-union  inter 
cepted  us.  Aunt  Emma  (yes,  it  must  be  her,  though 
grown  surprisingly  plump  since  I  had  last  seen  her) 
could  wait  in-doors  no  longer,  hearing  that  her  long- 
absent  boy  had  landed.  In  the  whitest  of  muslin  wrap 
pers  she  came  hurrying  out  lovingly. 

Ah  !  it's  something  to  be  folded  close,  and  kissed  so 
fondly,  by  such  a  mother ;  as  I,  alas  !  know  from  sad 
loss  and  lack.  But  on  this  occasion  I  needed  not  to  com- 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  81 

plain ;  for  my  loving  and  impetuous  aunt  remembered 
the  orphan -boy  for  his  mother's  sake.  Something, 
too,  to  see  Capt.  Addifon  standing  by,  rubbing  his 
hands  approvingly,  and  laughing  hard  to  keep  from 
doing  quite  the  reverse. 

Raed  and  Kit  were  presented,  and  welcomed  by  my 
aunt  with  a  certain  motherly  tenderness  that  quite  won 
them,  as  I  could  see.  No  doubt,  Wade,  in  his  letters, 
had  done  our  good  qualities  full  justice,  to  the  exclusion 
of  our  bad  ones  in  toto;  and  the  mother  now  remem 
bered  her  son's  comrades  gratefully. 

This  was  good ;  but  better  was  close  behind,  only  a 
few  steps,  and  all  in  white  muslin,  —  Wade's  two  sisters, 
Louise  and  Allicia,  who,  following  hard  behind  mamma 
to  meet  the  returning  brother,  had  paused  a  little  aloof 
at  sight  of  his  three  stranger-companions ;  for  though 
proud,  I  am  sure,  —  and,  if  I  must  needs  make  a  clean 
breast  of  it,  sometimes  a  little  sad,  —  to  call  them 
cousins,  till  that  moment  I  had  never  met  them. 

I  knew  how  dearly  Wade  loved  his  sisters,  —  differing 
in  this  particular  from  some  brothers.  And  now  we 
could  but  envy  him  his  greeting.  These  Southerners  are 
not  frugal  of  their  caresses.  To  have  a  sister's  plump 
arm  about  one's  neck,  and  be  kissed  so  joyously,  is  one 
of  the  things  worth  living  for,  no  doubt,  —  almost  as 
good  as  if  she  were  not  a  sister,  and  decidedly  better 
than  as  a  cousin.  Of  all  relationship,  that  of  first  cousin 
is  least  relevant  and  to  the  purpose.  For  my  own  part, 
I  have  always  wished  that  first  cousins  had  never  been 
Invented. 

Not  the  least  bit  alike  were  these  sisters  ;  yet,  singu 
larly  enough,  both  resembled  Wade. 


82  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

Louise  was  rather  tall,  with  clear,  light-hazel  eyes, 
and  a  profusion  of  wavy  hair,  —  so  auburn,  that  not  many 
shades  more  would  have  made  it  red  with  a  harsh  critic. 

Allicia,  on  the  contrary,  had  large  dark  eyes,  and  a 
shadowy,  pale  face.  Her  brown-black  hair  was  cut  short, 
and  clustered  about  her  forehead  in  tiny  rings.  This  was 
the  brand  of  a  recent  fever,  as  I  learned  afterwards  ;  for 
Allie  was  an  invalid.  The  hot,  damp  climate  of  the 
Amazons  had  like  to  cost  her  life. 

I  will  not  say  whicli  was  the  prettier  :  on  so  delicate 
a  theme  my  opinion  shall  be  private.  Besides,  others 
might  not  agree  with  me.  Wade  does  not,  for  one  ;  but 
then  a  brother  is  notoriously  a  bad  judge  of  his  sister's 
charms. 

Kit  and  Raed  were  presented.  Proud  as  Wade  is  of 
his  sisters,  I  know  he  was  not  a  little  anxious  that  they 
should  '-  fill  the  eye "  of  his  comrades,  and  make  a 
mutually  favorable  impression. 

He  had  nothing  to  fret  for.  K-aed  seemed  much  im 
pressed  by  delicate  little  Allie  :  and  really,  from  under 
that  broad,  tropical  hat,  her  dark  eyes  were  vastly  be 
guiling,  even  to  a  first  cousin ;  while  Kit  and  the  merry 
Louise  were  jolly  friends  at  sight.  Nothing  remained 
for  the  first  cousin  but  to  talk  with  his  aunt. 

Well,  middle-aged  ladies  are  often  better  company 
than  young  ones.  I  have,  at  least,  this  much  to  console 
myself  with. 

We  were  ushered  in  to  coffee  and  unlimited  conversa 
tion,  —  the  mutually  interesting  chat  of  long-severed 
friends. 

The  fazenda,  here  is  simply  a  large  two-story  house, 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  33 

built  much  after  the  fashion  of  a  planter' s  mansion  of 
the  Southern  States,  with  veranda  running  completely 
around  it.  The  whole  was  painted  a  cool  French  gray, 
blending  admirably  in  color  with  the  trunks  of  the  serin 
gas  which  rose  in  sleek  columns  all  about  it.  Blinds  of 
the  same  color  had  been  imported  for  the  upper-story  win 
dows.  The  large  windows  under  the  veranda  were  so 
buried  in  shade  as  to  hardly  need  them. 

Inside  there  were  library,  parlor,  and  drawing-room, 
—  much  like  our  home-arrangement.  The  "finish/7 
however,  was  quite  plain,  and  some  of  it  not  very 
smoothly  executed.  This  work  had  all  to  be  done  on 
the  spot  by  such  workmen  as  could  be  procured. 

The  furniture  had  been  brought  up  from  Para,  and  was 
of  Boston  manufacture,  even  to  the  Chickering  piano  : 
so  I  have  no  need  to  describe  that. 

I  was  surprised,  and  I  think  that  Wade  was  very  agree 
ably  surprised,  to  find  so  comfortable  a  residence  here. 

The  difficulties  which  must  have  attended  the  con 
struction  of  so  pleasant  a  mansion  in  so  remote  a  region 
can  be  properly  depicted  only  by  one  who  has  surmounted 
them.  But  an  Anglo-American  is  bound  to  live  in  a 
decent  house,  wherever  chance  may  cast  him.  No  adobe- 
huts  nor  bamboo-shanties  for  him  ! 

Whatever  we  might  think  of  Capt.  Additon's  volun 
tary  exile  of  himself  and  family,  we  could  but  heartily 
congratulate  him  on  his  success  with  his  fazenda.  Our 
surprise  pleased  him,  evidently,  —  all  the  more,  probably, 
that  he  felt  himself  well  entitled  to  the  compliment. 

The  plantation  at  present  comprised  a  clearing  of 
about  forty  acres  only.  There  was  room  for  almost  un- 


34  ON   THE    AMAZONS. 

limited  extension,  however.  On  first  coming  into  the 
country,  Capt.  Additon  had  secured  a  frontage  of  three 
miles  on  the  river  (extending  back  indefinitely)  by 
"  grant  of  especial  favor  "  from  the  emperor,  or  at  least 
from  his  government ;  from  which  it  may  be  inferred 
that  Dom  Pedro  II.  was  not  unfriendly  to  these  slave- 
holding  refugees. 

But,  practically,  slavery  is  as  "  dead  "  in  Brazil  as  in 
the  United  States.  There  are  now  scarcely  five  hundred 
slaves  in  the  whole  valley  of  the  Amazons  ;  and  these  had 
better  be  free,  so  far  as  their  masters'  pockets  are  con 
cerned. 

I  had  all  along  supposed,  that,  at  Capt.  Additon's  plan 
tation,  the  blacks  were  slaves  ;  but  they  were  not.  Three 
or  four  of  the  negresses  about  the  fazenda  were  pur 
chased  by  him  immediately  on  coming  into  the  country  : 
all  the  others,  to  the  number  of  twenty-seven,  were  hired 
at  an  average  of  four  dollars  per  month. 

This  state  of  things  struck  me  as  being  a  rather  good 
joke  —  every  thing  considered  —  on  a  man  who  had 
come  five  thousand  miles  to  perpetuate  the  "peculiar 
institution." 

The  fact  would  seem  to  stand,  that  the  world  has  out 
grown  slavery  welKnigh  universally.  No  one  man,  nor 
yet  any  one  nation,  can  perpetuate  what  the  common 
sentiment  of  nations  has  condemned  as  noxious  to  hu- 
manitj".  As  well  attempt  to  resist  the  law  of  gravitation 
as  combat  a  fact  so  universal. 

But,  that  Capt.  Additon  is  perfectly  sincere  in  his  way 
of  thinking  (also  a  little  wilful),  I  cannot  now  doubt 
for  a  moment.  The  way  in  which  he  he  has  acted  on 


ON  THE   AMAZONS.  35 

the  wild  scheme  of  colonizing  the  Amazons  region  is 
sufficient  proof  of  his  entire  single-mindedness.  And 
now  let  me  have  done  with  politics ;  for  the  reader  had 
better  believe  that  politics  was  a  subject,  of  all  others, 
most  studiously  avoided,  both  by  the  Additons  and  our 
selves,  during  our  entire  visit :  and,  even  had  we  been 
obliged  to  hear  the  "  tyranny  "  of  the  "  abolition  govern 
ment  "  dwelt  upon  daily,  we  should,  I  think,  have  been 
slow  to  express  our  opinions  to  this  family  in  exile,  even 
though  it  were  a  voluntary  one. 

As  it  drew  toward  noon,  the  heat,  which  the  breeze  on 
the  river  had  rendered  tolerable,  descended  in  its  strength. 
Dense  as  was  the  shade  of  the  seringas,  there  was  some 
thing  awful  in  the  furnace-like  breath  which  pervaded 
the  whole  place  ;  something  that  seemed  at  once  to  scorch 
and  dry  the  blood. 

The  parlor  had  a  sort  of  divan  on  one  side,  with 
light  lounges  of  cane  ;  and,  to  add  to  the  Oriental  seem 
ing,  there  was  a  veritable  punka  suspended  from  the 
ceiling,  and  worked  by  a  cord  in  the  hands  of  a  fat  ne- 
gress  outside  the  door.  Here,  with  windows  and  doors 
at  farthest  gap,  we  threw  ourselves,  quite  sans  ceremony, 
upon  the  lounges,  and  got  breath  as  best  we  could  from 
the  sultry  currents  which  the  punka  set  in  motion. 

At  times,  the  temperature  did  fairly  frighten  me :  it 
seemed  as  if  the  heat  would  quite  smother  us. 

Conversation  died  out  naturally,  as  costing  too  great  an 
effort.  Languor  took  its  place.  Thus  the  hours  of  mid 
day  would  generally  pass  ;  though  this  day  of  our  arrival 
was  one  of  the  very  hottest.  Deliver  me  from  such  a 
climate !  I  mean  to  keep  out  of  it  as  much  as  possible^ 


36  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

in  this  world ;  and  as  for  the  next,  I  hope  to  find  noth 
ing  much  ahead  of  the  Amazons. 

No  great  nation  can  ever  germinate  and  mature  on  the 
banks  of  this  regal  river.  Our  visit  convinced  us  of  this. 
The  climate  is  really  as  unfavorable  to  such  development 
as  is  that  of  Hudson  Straits. 

To  the  west  of  the  grove  and  house  there  was  a  cotton- 
field  of  ten  or  twelve  acres,  now  in  blossom  for  the  second 
time  this  year.  Through  the  trunks  of  the  trees  I  could 
see  the  sea  of  white  bolls  just  bursting,  on  which  the  sun 
shone  dazzlingly.  This  field  was  planted  only  the  year 
before  as  an  experiment,  —  one  that  bade  fair  to  be  a  per 
fect  success.  Capt.  Additon  assured  us  that  the  cotton 
thus  far  produced  had  been  of  the  first  qiiality,  the  fibre 
being  very  long  and  white. 

Cotton,  however,  was  not  the  main  "  staple "  here. 
The  reason  why  no  greater  clearings  had  been  made  lay 
in  the  fact  that  the  surrounding  forests  were  made  up 
largely  of  the  seringa-tree,  from  which  comes  the  India- 
rubber  of  the  country. 

Raed  remarked  that  this  rubber  manufacture  would  be 
a  novelty  for  us  all. 

"  To-morrow,  then,  you  must  take  a  walk  along  the 
estradas"  said  our  host. 

Toward  five,  P.M.,  a  Southern  gentleman  named  Ma 
jor  Lowrie  called,  and  remained  to  dinner.  He  is  a 
co-patriot  of  Capt.  Additon's,  and  was  then  engaged  in 
"  taking  up  "  a  plantation  five  or  six  miles  above.  His 
own  family  was  still  at  Para.  He  had  come  down  in  a 
montaria,  rowed  by  a  couple  of  Zummate  Indians  in  his 
employ. 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  37 

Major  Lowrie,  whom  we  saw  occasionally  during 
our  visit,  is  a  grave  gentleman,  heavily  mustached,  and 
every  inch  a  soldier.  I  was  not  surprised  to  see  that 
warm,  almost  fraternal,  relations  existed  between  Capt. 
Additon  and  himself.  They  were  much  alike ;  and  cir 
cumstances  had  invested  their  characters  with  a  certain 
romantic  interest. 

Major  Lowrie  greeted  Wade  with  almost  fatherly 
warmth;  but  to  us  young  Northerners  he  was  distant 
and  reserved,  and,  though  scrupulously  polite,  was  never 
cordial. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  "  Custard-Apple."  —  A  Perplexing  Question  by  a  Fair  Ques 
tioner.  —  The  Wicked  Darwinists.  —  Good  Bishop  M ,  and 

his  Opinions.  —  "  Haidee." —  A  Walk  past  the  "Quarters."  — 
A  Botocudo.  —  Palo.  —  Wolo.  —  Scanty  Apparel.  —  The  Ape- 
Man  Question. 

SIX,  P.M.,  was  the  regular  dining-hour  at  the  fa- 
zenda. 

Major  Lowrie  dined  with  us,  and  afterwards  was  en 
gaged  with  Capt.  Additon  on  certain  plans  for  build 
ing,  &c.,  connected  with  his  embryo  establishment. 

But  I  must  not  pass  over  this  first  dinner,  and  neglect 
to  mention  a  kind  of  fruit  which  came  on  with  the  dessert, 
and  which  was  so  utterly  a  novelty,  that  I  had  never  even 
heard  its  name.  They  called  it  a  chirimoya.  Botanists 
term  it  the  Annona  tripetala  ;  but  I  have  since  learned 
that  our  Yankee  skippers  and  sailors  call  it  a  "  custard- 
apple."  It  has  a  rough,  tough  green  skin  ;  but,  once 
through  this,  you  come  to  a  delicious  soft  white  pulp,  in 
which  are  many  black  seeds.  This  pulp  has  the  com 
bined  flavor  of  strawberry,  pine-apple,  pear,  and  the  ba 
nana.  Those  we  had  would  have  weighed  from  three  to 

38 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  39 

five  pounds  apiece  ;  and  I  was  told  that  they  sometimes 
grow  as  heavy  as  twelve  pounds. 

Baed  was  not  lond  of  it ;  but  both  Kit  and  myself 
thought  it  delicious.  Perhaps  we  have  inherited  our 
taste  from  some  ancestral  ape-man  who  used  to  feed  on 
them :  so  E-aed  told  us,  jokingly,  when  we  confessed,  or 
rather  demonstrated,  our  penchant  for  this  strange  fruit, 
and  Louise  had  herself  gone  for  a  fresh  supply. 

"  I  wonder  if  this  isn't  the  sort  of  apple  Eve  couldn't 
resist  ?  "  queried  Kit. 

"You  mean  the  sort  that  Adam  could  not  refuse," 
said  Louise  laughingly,  passing  him  the  basket. 

"  Well,  I  can't  so  much  blame  him,"  replied  Kit  with 
a  comical  sigh,  helping  himself  to  a  second  four-pounder. 

"  But  you  don't  believe  any  of  this  learned  stuff  about 
primitive  apes,  and  that  we  are  their  descendants,  I  hope," 
questioned  Louise. 

"  Ahem  ! "  from  Kit,  his  mouth  deep  in  the  juicy  chi- 
rimoya.  "  That's  —  that's  a  leading  question,  Miss 
Additon.  Don't  ask  me  :  ask  Mr.  Raedway." 

"  No,  no ;  don't  ask  me  !  "  cried  E/aed,  plunging  into 
a  banana  :  "  ask  your  cousin  Wash." 

"  What !  make  me  convict  myself  of  heresy  ?  "  I  pro 
tested.  "  Never  !  Ask  Wade." 

"  What  moral  cowards  ! "  cried  Louise,  turning  to  her 
brother.  "  Wade,  are  you  one  of  those  wicked  Dar 
winists  ?  " 

"  Not  a  wicked  Darwinist,  I  hope,"  cried  Wade  rather 
gravely.  "  You  should  not  apply  an  adjective  so  con 
demnatory  unthinkingly." 

Louise  bowed  with  a  show  of  reverence. 


40  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

"  Thank  you,  sir !  Delighted,  I  am  sure,  to  have  a 
preacher.  Quite  a  luxury,  seeing  we  have  no  clergyman 
here.  I  can  bear  all  but  that  —  pretty  well,"  she  con 
tinued  with  something  like  a  sigh  ;  "  but  to  have  no 
church  to  go  to  Sundays,  — that  is  a  real  hardship." 

"  I  don't  doubt  it,"  said  Wade.  "  A  church  is  quite 
a  necessity  with  ladies.  From  what  I  saw  in  the  North, 
I  think  the  ladies  there  would  soon  perish  outright  if 
they  had  no  churches  to  air  their  new  bonnets  in 
Sundays." 

"  O  Wade  !  that's  too  bad !  "  exclaimed  Allicia. 

"  Nor  yet  in  good  taste,"  added  Louise.  "  But  not 
one  of  you  young  gentlemen  have  answered  my  ques 
tion.  How  very  forgetful  !  " 

"Your  'wicked'  adjective  has  made  it  too  hard  for 
us,"  Kaed  protested. 

"  But  Wade  has  already  corrected  me  for  that." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Kit,  now  deep  in  the  "  custard- 
apple,"  "sparingly,  we  are,  I  suspect,  a  quartet  of  young 
Darwins,  and  believe  that  the  great  ape  was  the  grand 
progenitor  of  humanity.  Sorry  to  be  obliged  to  inform 
you  of  it,  Miss  Additon." 

"  And  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  it,"  said  she.  "  When 
I  was  down  at  Para  (we  stopped  there  a  couple  of 
months  on  our  way  here),  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
a  very  fatherly  old  gentleman,  —  so  benevolent  and 
mild !  His  hair  was  white  as  the  snow  we  never  see 
here.  I  was  very  proud  of  his  society  ;  and  he  seemed 
to  take  a  great  interest  in  Allie  and  myself.  —  Don't  you 
remember  him,  Allie  ?  " 

"  Indeed  I  do ! "  exclaimed  Allicia.  "  He  was  a 
Roman-Catholic  priest,  —  a  bishop." 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  41 

"  Ah  !  "  from  Eaed. 

"  Yes,"  continued  Louise.  "  He  used  to  talk  with  me 
a  great  deal  on  religious  subjects.  That  was  after  we 
were  well  acquainted,  and  I  had  told  him  who  we  were, 
and  where  we  were  going." 

"  Wanted  to  sow  the  '  good  seed '  up  the  river  here/" 
Wade  interrupted. 

"  Oh,  shame,  brother  !  "  cried  Allicia.  "  You  have  no 
idea  of  his  beautiful  character.  I  only  wish  he  could 
visit  us  sometimes  ;  and,  indeed,  he  almost  promised  to 
do  so." 

«  Oh,  he  did  ! "  laughed  Wade. 

"  And  I  am  sure  he  would  be  most  welcome  ! "  cried 
Louise.  "  I  would  myself  do  every  thing  to  make  his 
visits  agreeable,  —  if  he  would  only  come.  Why,  Fm 
longing  to  see  and  hear  a  clergyman  once  more  ! " 

"  Oh,  pray  consider  me  a  substitute ! "  interpolated 
Kit,  wiping  his  mouth,  fresh  from  the  destruction  of  the 
chirimoya. 

"  A  pretty  clergyman  you  would  make,  —  a  world- 
roving  young  Darwinist !  "  cried  Louise.  "  What  idea 
have  you  —  any  of  you  —  of  a  future  life,  or  of 
heaven  ?  " 

"  But  a  scanty  one,  I  do  fear,"  said  E-aed  gravely. 

"  I  was  speaking  one  day  of  my  brother  to  this 
saintly  old  gentleman,"  Louise  resumed,  with  a  suddenly 
tender  glance  at  Wade.  "  I  told  him  that  he  was  in  the 
North,  getting  a  (  scientific  }  education,  and  associated 
with  some,  I  feared,  very  radical  young  men. 

"Then  he  spoke  of  the  rash  theories  of  Jife  and  the 
soul  which  were  prevalent  among  men  of  science  in  the 


42  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

North,  and  said  —  what  I  could  then  hardly  believe  — 
that  my  brother  would  probably  become  imbued  with 
them." 

"  No  doubt ! "  cried  Wade.  "  A  very  shrewd  old 
gentleman." 

"  He  told  me,"  continued  Louise,  "  that  such  scepti 
cal  theories,  if  adhered  to,  would  infallibly  destroy  my 
brother's  usefulness,  and,  he  feared,  imperil  his  im 
mortal  soul ;  and  he  said  this  with  a  tear  in  his  eye, 
and  exhorted  me  to  use  a  sister's  influence  to  make  him 
a  true  Christian." 

"Meaning,  of  course,  a  good  Catholic,"  remarked 
Kit. 

"  He  did  not  say  a  Catholic,  but  a  Christian,"  replied 
Louise. 

"Ah,  well !  "  said  Wade :  "  for  his  good  wishes  and  his 
tears,  if  they  were  sincere,  I  hold  him  in  respect.  An 
enlightened  Christian,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  that  term, 
I  shall  always  strive  to  become  ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
I  shall  not  forget  that  a  Roman  Catholic  is  rarely  an 
enlightened  Christian,  and  frequently  the  very  reverse 
of  it." 

"  You  would  hardly  have  said  that  of  Bishop  M ," 

replied  Allicia  quickly.  "  I  am  sure  he  was  a  very 
enlightened  Christian.  Do  you  not  remember  what 
beautiful  words  he  used  to  speak  to  us,  Lou  ?  —  so  well- 
befitting,  and  happily  chosen  !  Oh  !  I  do  wish  he  would 
visit  us  while  you  are  here :  you  would  then  see  how 
good  and  wise  he  is." 

"  I  am  afraid  he  would  riot  find  my  brother  as  respect 
ful  as  I  could  wish,"  said  Louise  austerely. 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  43 

"  Indeed ! "  cried  Wade,  reddening  a  little  at  this 
thrust.  "  Louise  should  know  that  no  guest,  least  of  all 
a  clergyman  of  any  creed,  will  ever  fail  to  receive  due 
respect  at  my  hands.  I  might  not  worship  him,  as 
ladies  do ;  but  Bishop  M and  myself  would  under 
stand  each  other  at  once.  If  he  did  me  the  honor 
to  advise  me  with  reference  to  my  future,  I  should  give 
the  closest  attention,  and  never  fail  to  profit  by  whatever 
of  good  I  found  in  his  advice ;  and  in  this,  my  dear 
sisters,  I  assure  you  that  I  speak  not  only  my  own  senti 
ments,  but  those  of  my  comrades." 

To  this  E-aed  and  Kit  both  bowed  in  response  ;  and  I 
could  but  feel  grateful  for  the  happy  way  in  which 
Wade  had  spoken  for  us  all.  What  higher  compliment 
could  he  have  paid  us  ? 

To  think  and  speak  boldly  and  independently,  in  a 
word,  to  be  a  profound  radical,  without  needlessly  wound 
ing  the  feelings  of  others,  is  indeed  the  very  masterpiece 
of  social  reform.  Even  sound  opinions  had  better  remain 
unexpressed  than  be  roughly  and  cruelly  expressed.  Great 
truths  seem  often  harsh  and  hard-featured  when  first 
they  come  to  the  light.  Only  a  lover  of  his  race  is  fit  to 
announce  them  to  the  world.  Announced  in  scorn  and 
anger,  they  are  but  thunderbolts,  which  injure  and 
affright. 

"•  Speaking  of  the  '  ancestral  ape,'  "  continued  Wade, 
changing  the  topic,  "reminds  me  of  the  plantation  In 
dians  here,  of  whom  we  got  a  glimpse  this  morning. 
For  one,  I  feel  a  little  curious  to  see  more  of  them. 
Judging  from  their  looks,  I  infer  that  we've  come  to  the 
right  place  to  get  our  views  on  that  subject  confirmed. 


44  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

Unless  I  am  much  mistaken,  I  got  sight  of  some  of  the 
*  intermediate  links'  'twixt  man  and  monkey  which 
some  of  our  zealous  divines  claim  to  be  wanting.  Louise, 
how  do  these  black  Indians  live  ?  Can't  you  show  us  the 
way?  Come,  Allie  darling!  Come  on,  fellows!  Let's 
see  what  father's  got  here  in  the  man-ape  line." 

"  That  is  fine,  superior  talk  !  "  cried  Louise,  tying  on 
her  hat,  and  fetching  a  shawl  for  Allicia.  "  But  you 
will  think  better  of  it  when  you  see  them.  Why,  my 
maid  is  a  perfect  Indian  beauty.  I've  kept  her  out 
of  sight  all  day,  for  fear  you  would  fall  in  love  with 
her." 

"  By  Jove !  that's  too  bad,  Lou  ! "  exclaimed  Wade 
as  the  rest  of  us  laughed  heartily  at  this  sally. 

"  Do  let's  see  her ! "  cried  Kit. 

"  Yes,  bring  out  your  sable  beauty ;  do !  "  demanded 
Kaed. 

"Not  till  you  each  solemnly  promise  not  to  fall  in 
love  with  her,"  insisted  our  mischievous  young  hostess. 

"Indeed,  Miss  Additon,"  exclaimed  Baed,  "you  do 
yourself  too  great  injustice  !  " 

"It  would  hardly  be  possible,"  insinuated  Kit,  with  a 
glance  of  such  evident  admiration,  that  Louise  was  fain 
to  cry,  "  There,  there  !  I'm  fully  satisfied." 

She  stepped  out  into  the  hall,  and  pulled  a  bell. 

"I  hope  you  haven't  kept  the  poor  girl  up-stairs  all  day, 
Lou,"  expostulated  Wade. 

"  Oh  !  she  doesn't  mind  the  heat,"  cried  Lou.  "  She's 
been  sound  asleep  all  day,  I  promise  you." 

"  Possibly,  then,  she  may,  in  that  case,  require  some 
little  time  for  her  toilet,"  Wade  suggested. 


HAIDEE. 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  45 

"  Wrong  again  ! "  laughed  Louise.  "  She  only  makes 
one  a  week." 

Immediately  we  heard  a  door  shut  somewhere  in  the 
upper  regions.  There  was  a  romp  on  the  stairs,  in  the 
hall ;  when  there  bounced  in  a  droll  girl,  of  whom  I  have 
secured  a  likeness. 

Too  dusk  for  a  brunette,  she  was  still  far  from  the 
standard  Indian  black :  in  short,  an  unmistakable  Mes 
tizo  (half-caste, —  white  and  Indian).  She  bounced  in, 
and,  seeing  us,  raised  a  feather  fan  archly  over  her  eyes, 
thereby  displaying  a  pretty  bracelet. 

"  Myrrh  a,"  said  Louise,  "  go  to  mother,  and  say  that 
we  are  going  out  to  the  '  quarters,'  and  ask  her  if  she 
will  accompany  us." 

Still  without  a  word,  Myrrha  whisked  us  a  saucy  look, 
and  withal  a  very  bold  one,  and,  turning  coquettishly, 
went  out  at  another  bounce. 

Wade  burst  out  laughing. 

"Call  her  Myrrha,  do  you?"  he  exclaimed.  "What 
shocking  taste  !  She's  Haidee  !  " 

"  Haidee  all  over  ! "  cried  Kit. 

"  What  do  I  know  of  Haidee  ? "  said  Louise  de 
murely. 

"  Oh,  I  beg  your  pardon  !  "  cried  Wade.  "  I  forgot 

that  girls  don't  read  '  Don  J .'  But  that's  Haidee, 

nevertheless.  I  couldn't  call  her  any  thing  else,  were  I 
to  try." 

"  Nor  I,"  Kit  supplemented.     "  Image  of  Haidee  ! " 

"  But  what  an  outre  costume  ! "  commented  Kaed. 

"  Yes.  Why  in  the  world  don't  you  make  her  wear 
a  dress  like  folks?"  said  Wade.  "Why,  that  thing 


46  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

she  had  on  looked  like  a  great  bag,  with  a  hole  cut  in 
the  bottom  for  her  head.  Besides,  it  shows  her  —  her 
ankles,  Louise.  You  must  consider  that  we're  just  from 
the  North,  —  from  Boston,  —  where  they  put  pantalets 
on  the  piano-leys.  None  of  your  equatorial  nudities  be 
fore  us.  Consider  my  friend  Kaedvvay's  feelings.  See 
how  he's  blushing  !  He  never  saw  so  much  as  one  stray 
ankle  in  his  whole  life.  There  are  no  ankles  —  not  such 
ones  as  l  Haidee's  '  here  —  in  New  England.  South 
Carolina  was  never  quite  so  mysterious  ;  but  this  '  Hai- 
dee  '  is  far  ahead  of  me." 

"  Haven't  I  tried  to  have  her  wear  a  dress  ?  "  exclaimed 
Louise.  "  But  I  really  cannot  keep  one  on  her.  She 
is  a  perfect  —  if  I  must  say  it  —  trollop  !  " 

"  Why,  Louise  ! "  cried  Allicia  in  gentle  astonishment. 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  said  Louise,  looking  round  to  her  sis 
ter.  "A  very  naughty  word." 

"Where  for  mercy's  sake  did  you  get  her?"  Wade 
asked. 

"  Father  procured  her  at  Santarem,"  said  Allicia. 

"If  she  were  not  so  good-looking,  and  so  droll  and 
comical,  I  would  not  have  her  about,"  Louise  explained. 
"  It  is  of  no  use  telling  her  what  we  wish  done :  she 
will  do  nothing  unless  she  happens  to  feel  in  the  mood 
for  it.  Some  things  she  does  wonderfully  well ;  others 
correspondingly  ill.  Whatever  she  does,  it  is  to  please 
herself,  not  us." 

"  She  is  very  interesting,"  E-aed  observed. 

"  Ah,  you  -think  so  !  "  cried  Louise,  laughing.  "  Now, 
what  I'm  puzzling  myself  about  is,  which  one  of  you 
young  gentlemen  Myrrha  will  fall  in  love  with." 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  47 

"Oho!" 

"  Yes :  when  she  admires  any  one,  she  makes  no  secret 
of  it." 

"Indeed!" 

"  Fact.  Oh,  we've  had  no  end  of  amusement  with  her  ! 
There,  sometimes  I  think  she  is  a  great  deal  like  an  ani 
mal." 

"  Then  perhaps  you  will  yet  become  of  our  way  of 
thinking,"  said  Kit. 

"Oh,  never !  Dear,  good  Bishop  M explained  all 

about  that  to  me.  It  is  sin  which  makes  persons  animal- 
like.  Man  fell  from  his  primitive  state  of  purity ;  and 
the  way  hack  is  hard  and  long.  But  we  must  all  work 
patiently,  tenderly,  and  lovingly :  that  is  what  that 
grand  old  gentleman  teaches.  I  am  sure  he  must  be 
much  like  the  Saviour." 

"  Hum ! "  from  Wade.  "  My  dear  Louise,  you  do 
nothing  by  halves,  I  see ;  but  beware  of  extremes.  —  Fel 
lows,  we  can  at  least  congratulate  the  good  bishop  on  one 
convert." 

"  On  two  converts,  in  that  sense,"  said  Allicia ;  "  for  I 
believed  what  he  told  us  as  much  as  Lou  did." 

"  Two  it  is,  then.  I'll  send  you  rosaries  for  my  next 
present.  Come,  now,  let's  pay  the  Zamboes  a  visit." 

Myrrha  met  us  on  the  veranda  to  say  that  Aunt 
Emma  was  engaged  with  Capt.  Additon  and  Major 
Lowrie.  Meanwhile  she  had  donned  an  immense  string 
of  amber  beads ;  and  she  still  carried  the  feather  fan. 
Wade  gave  her  cheek  a  playful  pinch  with  that  air  of 
careless  superiority  which  seems  natural  in  a  Southerner 
toward  a  servant.  At  this  she  flashed  a  defiant  look, 


48  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

swished  her  fan  across  his  face,  and  cut  behind  her  mis 
tress,  where  some  one  gave  her  ear  a  pull.  I  think  it 
was  Kit ;  for  I  saw  her  swishing  at  him  with  the  fan 
again. 

The  "  quarters,"  as  they  called  the  neat  little  palm- 
thatched  huts  where  the  Indians  slept,  were  under  four 
or  five  wide-spreading  samaumas,  about  a  hundred  rods 
to  the  north  of  the  fazenda,  just  on  the  edge  of  the 
forest,  where  the  clearing  terminated  on  that  side.  These 
huts,  of  which  there  were  ten  or  a  dozen,  were,  for  the 
most  part,  of  circular  form,  averaging  about  ten  feet  in 
diameter.  They  were  built  by  simply  driving  stakes 
into  the  ground,  and  wattling  the  sides  with  pampas-grass; 
palm-leaves  furnishing  the  material  for  a  tolerably  tight 
roof.  But  near  by,  and  connected  with  these,  was  a  long 
frame -building,  substantially  boarded  and  shingled. 
This  was  the  kitchen  and  "eating-house,"  where  three 
good  meals  per  day  were  cooked  and  served  up  to  the 
laborers  on  tables  running  the  whole  length  of  a  long 
room. 

The  huts  were  built  by  the  Indians  themselves ;  but 
the  kitchen  had  been  erected  under  the  supervision  of 
Capt.  Additou. 

On  the  borders  of  the  forest  I  saw  a  stationary  steam- 
engine  under  a  shed  connected  with  circular-saws,  where 
the  lumber  for  the  buildings  was  sawed ;  and  a  little 
farther  on  there  was  a  stable  for  mules,  of  which  ani 
mals  there  were  eight  or  nine. 

Down  by  the  river,  on  the  south  side,  and  a  little  back 
from  the  wharf,  there  were  two  larger  buildings,  —  ware 
houses  for  storing  the  products  of  the  plantation.  But, 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  49 

at  present,  Capt.  Additon's  sources  of  income  were  main 
ly  from  the  manufacture  of  India-rubber  from  tbe  sap 
of  the  seringas,  of  which  trees  the  adjacent  forests  were 
largely  made  up. 

On  the  following  morning  we  took  a  trip  along  some 
of  the  various  estradas  de  seringas  (India-rubber  paths), 
of  which  some  further  account  is  reserved. 

The  Indians  were  lounging  about  the  quarters,  the 
labors  of  the  day  being  now  over.  Generally  they  do 
not  work  over  six  hours  in  a  day  (from  five  to  six  hours), 
and  leisurely  at  that.  They  do  not  seem  a  race  capable 
of  continued  labor.  Then,  too,  the  fearful  heats  of  mid 
day  preclude  any  great  bodily  exertion.  Lying  stretched 
out  under  the  samaumas,  or  standing  in  their  hut-door 
smoking  and  chatting  with  each  other,  they  were  indeed 
a  bizarre  horde.  No  less  than  five  different  tribes  were 
here  represented.  One  large-boned  fellow,  naked  save 
for  a  pair  of  duck  pants,  and  these  with  the  legs  rolled 
above  his  knees,  especially  drew  my  attention,  from  the 
great  hole  in  his  under-lip.  Without  the  least  exagger 
ation,  one  might  have  thrust  the  muzzle  of  a  six-barrelled 
pistol  into  the  cavity,  through  which  could  plainly  be 
seen  his  under-teeth. 

"  That's  a  Botoeudo"  Louise  explained  to  me  (we  had 
lingered  a  little  behind  the  others).  "  He  is  from  some 
where  in  the  southern  part  of  the  empire,  father  says. 
That's  a  custom  they  have  of  boring  their  lips  and  ears, 
and  putting  in  botogaes,  or  stoppers ;  and  that  is  the 
meaning  of  their  name,  Botoeudo.  The  women  have 
similar  holes  in  their  ears,  in  which  they  wear  plugs  of 
some  light  wood,  like  cork.  They  sometimes  wear  a  plug 


50  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

in  the  hole  in  their  lips  in  the  same  way.  Horrible 
practice  !  —  one  that  nobody  can  find  out  the  origin  or 
use  of,  unless  it  be  for  ornament." 

Wade  and  the  others  had  stopped  to  speak  to  another 
of  the  Indians,  —  a  very  black  fellow,  similarly  clad  in 
duck  trousers  with  the  legs  rolled  up,  and  in  addition  a 
linen  jacket,  open  in  front,  however,  displaying  a  breast 
and  stomach  tattooed  in  checks.  The  man  was  pleasant, 
and  seemed  of  a  gentle  disposition.  He  spoke  a  few 
words  of  curiously  intoned  English.  I  heard  Allicia  say 
ing  that  he  was  of  the  Mundurucu  tribe,  and  that  his 
name  was  Palo. 

Still  another  had  what  seemed,  at  first  sight,  to  be 
three  horns  growing  out  of  the  lower  part  of  his  face,  — 
one  on  his  chin,  and  the  two  others  on  either  side  of  his 
nose.  But  we  soon  discovered  that  these  were  of  wood, 
after  the  prevailing  fashion.  On  his  cheeks,  too,  were 
dark,  tattooed  stripes.  Altogether,  these  gave  his  face  a 
grotesque,  wild-boar-like  aspect ;  but  even  this  formidable- 
looking  person  was  a  mild  fellow. 

"  He  is  a  Mura  Indian  "  (so  Louise  was  saying) ; 
"  and  his  name  is  Wolo." 

There  were  six  Indian  women  about  the  quarters,  be 
longing,  Louise  thought,  to  as  many  different  tribes ;  for 
the  Amazons  valley  is  the  home  of  very  many  tribes, 
some  of  which  are  limited  to  a  single  village. 

The  freedom  with  which  these  people  expose  their 
nearly  nude  bodies  is  certainly  a  little  embarrassing 
when  seen  for  the  first  time  by  a  Northerner,  —  in  com 
pany  with  ladies  too.  I  really  don't  know  what  those 
prim  damsels  who  put  the  pantalets  on  the  piano-legs 


WOLO. 


OK   THE  AMAZONS.  51 

would  have  done,  had  they  been  with  us  that  evening 
on  our  walk  past  the  Indian  quarters  :  probably  they 
would  have  fainted  outright.  However,  the  men  all  had 
on  trousers,  and  the  women  skirts,  —  short  ones.  Thug 
much  of  clothing  Capt.  Additon  insisted  upon,  and 
left  other  apparel  to  their  own  discretion.  The  most  of 
them  would  seem  to  have  deemed  the  above-mentioned 
garments  quite  enough.  It  was  much  less  confusing  to 
see  that  Louise  and  Allicia  seemed  to  think  it  quite  a 
matter  of  course ;  and,  indeed,  it  would  be  altogether  a 
mistake  to  connect  this  scanty  garb  —  which  the  climate 
not  only  sanctions,  but  urges  —  with  any  thing  like  im 
morality. 

As  we  passed  on,  Myrrha  lingered  a  little ;  and,  glan 
cing  incidentally  back,  I  saw  Wolo  approach,  and  give  her, 
with  the  air  of  a  lover,  a  pictured  cup,  which  proved  to 
contain  cassia-buds  freshly  gathered  from  the  shrub. 
The  wilful  beauty  received  it  much  as  she  had  Wade's 
pinch,  and  instantly  whisked  the  giver's  face  with  her  fan. 

Dusk  was  rapidly  falling  as  we  walked  back.  Some  of 
the  Indians  had  kindled  fires  in  front  of  their  huts ;  and 
the  red  light  reflected  from  these  tropical  dwellings,  and 
their  half-naked  bodies,  gave  a  picturesqueness  to  the 
scene  which  T  had  sometimes  read  of,  but  never  before 
seen  as  a  reality.  Add  to  this  the  might}'  "  forest  pri 
meval,"  which  walled  in  with  dark  and  lofty  woods  the 
little  clearing,  and  the  still  mightier  river  in  front,  sweep 
ing  grandly  and  ponderously  on,  —  altogether  giving  an 
idea  of  such  vast  and  solemn  isolation  as  to  fill  the  mind 
with  awe  and  loneliness.  Even  within  the  lighted  par 
lors  of  i\\vfazenda  this  sense  of  wildness  and  remoteness 


52  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

still  oppressed  one.  Kit  mentioned  it  repeatedly.  Wade 
thought  it  would  wear  off,  as  indeed  it  did  in  a  measure. 
Allicia  afterwards  told  me,  that,  for  the  first  week  after 
coming  up  the  river,  she  had  scarcely  been  able  to  sleep 
an  hour  in  a  night ;  not  from  any  especial  fear,  but 
rather  from  a  sense  of  far-off  loneliness  :  Louise  called  it 
"  home-sickness." 

As  the  evening  advanced,  we  went  out  on  the  veranda. 
Beneath  the  shadows  of  the  grove  a  perfect  blackness 
enveloped  all  objects.  The  darkness  seemed  almost  tan 
gible,  the  air  was  so  warm  and  damp.  Here  and  there 
a  brilliant  fire-fly  flashed  its  lantern.  At  intervals,  too, 
the  transient  gleam  of  lightning  would  shudder  an  in 
stant  over  the  landscape ;  but  we  heard  no  thunder. 

Out  in  the  forest,  on  the  east  side  of  the  plantation,  a 
plaintive  howling  was  heard,  sometimes  faint  and  melan 
choly,  then  boisterously  noisy,  as  if  from  a  score  of 
throats. 

Presently,  as  we  stood  listening  to  this  quaint  uproar, 
Louise  joined  us.  Allicia  had  retired  for  the  night. 

"  Oh  !  those  are  our  howling  monkeys,"  she  said  in 
answer  to  our  question.  "  They  serenade  us  every  few 
evenings  :  about  the  only  serenades  we  are  like  to  receive 
here,  I  expect." 

"  Do  you  ever  get  a  glimpse  of  them  ?  "  Kit  inquired. 

"Never.  They  are  very  shy  creatures  ;  and  the  In 
dians  tell  us  that  they  are  really  much  farther  off  in  the 
forest  than  they  seem  to  be  as  we  hear  them.  But  1 
saw  one  dead  about  a  week  ago.  An  Indian  had  shot  it. 
And  a  hideous  little  black  fellow  it  was !  I  could  not 
bear  to  1  >ok  at  it.  I  could  scarcely  believe  the  Indians 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  53 

ate  them,  till  I  actually  saw  them  roasting  this  one  over 
a  fire  they  had  kindled  at  the  edge  of  the  forest." 

"  I  declare,  that's  very  much  like  cannibalism,"  Kaed 
remarked. 

"  According  to  your  theory,  it  would  be  bordering  on 
that  fearful  practice,  certainly."  observed  Louise.  "But, 
then,  your  theory  is  all  wrong.  Our  Indians  are  no  more 
related  to  these  little  black  monkeys  than  to  the  jaguars 
which  we  sometimes  hear  off  in  the  woods,  —  in  my 
opinion." 

Eaed  hastily  explained  that  no  one  believed  or  ar 
gued  that  the  Indians  of  the  Amazons  were  descended 
immediately  from  the  present  species  of  monkeys. 

Louise  said,  that,  for  her  part,  she  would  far  sooner 
believe  that  the  monkeys  were  the  descendants  of  some 
savage  tribe  of  dirt-eating  Indians,  such  as  were  found 
on  the  river  when  it  was  first  explored. 

I  think  that  this  latter  idea  was  quite  original  with 
Louise ;  though  Raed  went  on  to  explain  that  there 
were  two  theories  of  life  held  at  present  by  savans  : 
the  first,  that  of  the  majority,  —  namely,  that  there  has 
been  a  gradual  progress  for  the  better  from  the  very 
lowest  forms  of  infusorial  life  up  to  the  larger  animals, 
and  man  as  we  at  present  find  him,  through  millions 
of  years ;  the  second,  that  man  was  at  first  created  a 
perfect  being,  and,  by  reason  of  sin,  has  fallen,  degener 
ated,  till  in  the  monkey,  the  gorilla,  and  in  the  other 
genera  of  wild  beasts,  we  see  humanity  fallen,  and  de 
praved  physically,  intellectually,  and  morally. 

The  "learned  young  philosopher,"  having  once  got 
his  logic  tapped,  continued  at  great  length  to  show  why 


54  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

we  should  unhesitatingly  accept  the  first  of  these  theo 
ries,  —  the  "  progress-upward  "  theory.  The  second,  he 
declared,  was  little  less  than  a  blasphemy  of  the  goodness 
of  the  Creator.  In  short,  we  were,  in  the  end,  very  glad 
to  get  away  from  him,  and  go  to  our  rooms. 

Tiresome  fellows,  these  philosophers  !     Young  or  old, 
they  are  much  alike 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Estradas  de  Seringas,  or  India-Rubber  Groves  of  the  Ama 
zons.  —  Louise's  Estrada.  —  The  Machadinho.  —  Tapping  the 
Trees.  — The  Milk.  — A  Self-made  Heiress.  —  Myrrha's  Ques 
tion.  —  Croquet  and  Le  Cercle.  —  Smoking  the  Seringa-Sap.  —  A 
Flourishing  Business.  —  Raed  asks  a  Question. 

THE  Additions,   according  to  Brazilian  custom,  bad 
chocolate  or  coffee   immediately  on  rising    in  the 
morning,  with  perhaps  some  light  refreshment,  as  each 
fancied.     The  regular  breakfasting-hour  was  ten  o'clock, 

A.M. 

Capt.  Additon  had  invited  us  to  go  out  with  him  to  the 
seringa-woods  to  see  the  daily  tapping  of  the  trees.  We 
were  called  at  sunrise  accordingly,  and  joined  the  captain 
in  a  cup  of  coffee  preparatory  to  our  walk.  The  girls  had 
not  yet  come  down  ;  but  Louise  sent  Myrrha  to  say  that 
she  would  join  us  immediately  if  ive  would  ivait.  At 
which  Capt.  Additon  laughed. 

"Louise  is  something  of  a  rubber-maker,"  said  he. 
"  She  has  a  short  estrada  of  her  own,  which  she  tends 
quite  constantly.  The  labor  is  very  light,  and  the  exer 
cise  sufficient  to  make  the  walk  a  healthful  one.  If  Al- 
lie  were  only  as  strong  as  Louise ! "  A  sigh  completed  the 

55 


56  ON  THE   AMAZONS. 

sentence,  telling  how  great  an  anxiety  had  called  it  forth. 
I  could  but  pity  the  father  who  feared  for  his  child  what 
he  had  never  feared  for  himself.  Still  more  did  I  pity 
Allicia,  transported  to  this  strange  damp  climate,  to  be 
its  victim,  I  felt  convinced,  and  that  ere  long. 

Louise  came  down,  quite  the  pleasant  companion  of 
yesterday.  Morning  greetings  ;  and  we  were  all  fain 
to  take  a  second  cup  of  coffee  with  her. 

"Now,  Myrrha,  my  machadinho"  cried  this  enter 
prising  girl,  "  and  a  lump  of  soft  clay  ! " 

Myrrha  —  on  her  good  behavior  this  morning  — 
brought  them  immediately :  and  we  all  set  off  across 
the  clearing  toward  the  forest-line,  following  a  well- 
beaten  path  through  the  wet  grass ;  but,  as  all  had  put 
on  rubber-boots,  we  cared  little  for  the  dew. 

"  Is  that  what  you  call  a  machadinko  ?  "  Kit  ques 
tioned,  curiously  inspecting  the  narrow  hatchet  which 
"  Haidee  "  was  carrying. 

"  Yes ;  that  is  the  instrument  we  use  for  tapping 
the  trees,"  said  Capt.  Additon. 

"  The  word  itself  means  little  axe"  I  heard  Louise 
explain  to  Kit  a  moment  later. 

"  But  what  do  you  use  the  clay  for  ?  "  inquired  Wade, 
who  was  fully  as  ignorant  as  the  rest  of  us. 

"  Oh  !  you  shall  see,  sir,"  replied  his  sister  gayly.  "I 
shall  take  care  to  explain  it  thoroughly ;  for  I  intend  to 
have  you  help  me  gather  the  sap  when  I  find  the  day 
too  hot." 

A  walk  of  a  few  hundred  meters  brought  us  to  the  bor 
ders  of  the  forest,  which  presented  a  seemingly  solid  green 
wall,  wattled  with  vines  and  broad  leaves.  Here  and 


ON  THE   AMAZONS.  57 

there  an  entrance,  which  was  as  shapely  and  as  sharply 
defined  as  a  doorway  or  a  small  arch,  opened  into  the  green 
wilderness  beyond.  These  doors  seemed  to  have  been  cut 
at  about  regular  intervals,  and  were  each  numbered  on  a 
small  finger-post  standing  hard  by. 

"  No.  15  ;  this  is  mine  ! "  said  Louise,  laughing.  "  I 
must  ask  you  all  to  tread  carefully,  and  not  step  on  any 
of  my  tin  basins  that  you  may  chance  to  find  under 
feet." 

She  went  under  the  archway,  and  we  followed  in  single 
file.  The  entrance  proved  to  be  the  mouth  of  a  path, 
which  wound  on  from  tree  to  tree,  keeping  a  generally 
northern  direction,  straight  off  into  the  forest.  To  cut 
this  path  with  a  machete,  or  axe,  was,  as  we  were  in 
formed,  a  task  requiring  several  days'  labor.  It  could 
hardly  be  otherwise ;  for  its  sides  presented  closely- 
cropped  masses  of  branches,  and  leaves  so  dense  that  the 
eye  could  not  penetrate  it  for  a  yard  even.  The  seringas 
past  which  this  estrada,  or  path,  led,  were  scattered  at 
irregular  intervals:  sometimes  three  or  four  would  be 
found  within  a  dozen  yards;  then  the  path  would  con 
tinue  a  dozen  rods  to  the  next.  All  these  seringas, 
which,  from  growing  in  so  dense  and  dark  a  forest,  are 
found  with  their  trunks  coated  with  damp  moss,  had 
been  scraped  smooth  and  clean  to  the  fresh,  reddish 
bark.  At  the  root  of  each  one  was  a  little  tin,  tumbler- 
shaped  vessel,  turned  bottom  upwards.  This  was  for 
catching  the  sap.  The  estrada  we  were  following  was 
much  shorter  than  they  were  generally  cut.  It  extend 
ed  back  about  half  a  mile  only,  and  embraced  or  led  to 
about  thirty  trees  in  all ;  whereas  the  average  length  of 


58  ON    THE   AMAZONS. 

the  paths  is  about  two  miles,  embracing  from  a  hundred 
to  a  hundred  and  fifty  trees. 

To  tend  one  of  these  longer  estradas  is  the  ordinary 
work  of  a  single  Indian  laborer. 

But,  from  its  devious  windings,  we  were  fully  a  half- 
hour  reaching  the  farther  end  of  this  short  one,  which 
Louise  sometimes  tended  for  diversion  and  exercise. 
Arriving  at  the  last  tree  at  the  end  of  the  estrada, 
Capt.  Additon  took  a  bit  of  clay  from  the  lump  which 
"  Haidee  "  had  brought :  this  he  held  ready  in  his  left 
hand ;  then,  taking  the  machadinho,  struck  it  slant-wise, 
at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  into  the 
bark  of  the  seringa,  about  four  feet  from  the  ground, 
Handing  the  machadinko  quickly  back  to  the  girl,  he 
took  up  the  little  tin  tumbler,  and  fastened  it  with  the 
soft  clay  directly  at  the  bottom  of  the  cut,  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  exuding  juice  would  run  into  the  cup. 
This  was  the  process  of  tapping.  It  was  the  work  of 
but  a  moment. 

"  Now  it's  my  turn,'7  said  Louise  as  we  retraced  our 
steps  to  the  next  preceding  tree. 

"  Is  Lou  such  an  expert  ?  "  Wade  laughed. 

" She  has  a  very  lucky  hand  with  the  machadinho" 
replied  her  father,  smiling.  "  She  quite  surpasses  me  :  I 
own  it." 

"  The  trouble  with  papa,"  said  Louise,  "  is,  that  he 
hits  too  hard.  There's  a  *  knack,'  as  Yankees  say,  in 
tapping  with  the  little  hatchet.  One  does  not  want  to 
cut  clean  through  the  bark  into  the  wood.  The  cut  must 
be  almost,  but  not  quite,  into  the  wood,  to  have  the  tree 
run  most  frealy.  Now,  father's  a  soldier,  and  used  to 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  59 

giving  hard  blows.  He  deals  the  poor  trees  such  a  lick, 
that  he  cuts  sheer  into  the  wood." 

"  Oh  !  that's  it,  then,"  said  Capt.  Additon,  a  good  deal 
amused,  and,  I  think,  not  greatly  displeased  with  his 
daughter. 

"  Ah  !  I've  seen  you  wound  the  poor  seringas  many  a 
time,"  said  Louise.  "  And  you  never  remember  what 
you  once  told  me,  —  that  fearful,  mortal  wounds  generally 
bleed  less  than  lighter  ones.  I  recollected  that  fact  when 
I  came  to  tap  on  my  estrada;  and  that  is  why  my  trees 
run  better  than  when  you  tap  them. 

"  There :  this  is  the  way  I  do  "  (giving  the  trunk  a 
quick,  light  blow,  and  deftly  adjusting  the  cup).  "  See 
how  the  juice  pours  out ! " 

Off  in  the  dense  woods,  both  to  the  right  and  left, 
snatches  of  song,  with  an  occasional  halloo  and  its  answer 
ing  shout,  were  plainly  audible,  somewhat  muffled  by  the 
thick  vegetation. 

"  My  seringeiros  are  astir,"  Capt.  Additon  remarked ; 
and,  in  answer  to  my  question,  he  told  us  that  he  had 
twenty  of  these  estradas  besides  Louise's,  tended  by  as 
many  hired  Indians. 

"  But  is  this  juice,  or  milk,  of  the  seringa,  really  the 
India-rubber  of  commerce  ?  "  Kaed  asked. 

"  Not  till  after  it  is  smoked,"  said  Capt.  Additon. 

"  And  that's  a  disagreeable  job,"  observed  Louise. 
"  That  is  the  only  part  I  cannot  do.  I  have  to  let  the 
Indians  do  my  smoking.  Wolo  does  that  part  for  me,  — 
for  Myrrh a's  sake,  I  suspect ;  though  I  give  him  an  oc 
casional  present." 

"  How's  that,  Myrrha  ?  "  said  Wade.  "  What  do  you 
think  of  Wolo?" 


60  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

"Haidee"  gave  her  fan  a  whisk,  and  tossed  her  head. 

"  Wolo's  a  great,  soft,  black  monkey  ! "  she  exclaimed. 
"  Do  you  think  I  would  care  for  such  a  black  fellow  ?  " 

"  Myrrha  is  very  cruel  to  poor  Wolo,"  said  Louise, 
laughing.  "Nothing  but  a  white  gentleman  for  her." 

At  this  speech  Myrrha  did  not  scruple  to  whisk  her 
own  mistress  in  the  face  with  that  ever-handy  fan.  That 
done,  she  went  on  ahead. 

"  A  very  singular  girl,"  remarked  Capt.  Additon.  "  If 
you  talk  in  that  manner  to  her,  Louise,  she  will  become 
quite  unmanageable." 

"  No  doubt,  Louise  is  hoarding  money  from  her  rubber- 
path,"  laughed  Wade. 

"Ah,  I'm  getting  rich,  I  assure  you!"  cried  Louise. 
"  I  always  had  an  ambition  to  be  an  heiress.  You  dread 
ful  abolitionists  frustrated  that  hope"  (with  a  glance  at 
Kaed  and  Kit,  at  which  Capt.  Additon  looked  grave). 
"  But  I  won't  give  it  up.  I  meau  now  to  be  one  of  my 
own  creating  !  " 

"  That's  quite  a  novelty,"  laughed  Wade.  "  A  self- 
made  heiress !  About  how  much  ?  You  should  give  us 
an  idea  of  your  market-value." 

"  Hum !  I  do  not  like  much  to  speak  of  my  great 
wealth"  said  the  merry  girl.  " However,  I  can  safely 
set  my  income  at  two  dollars  per  day." 

"  Bravo  !  That's  the  interest  on  ten  thousand  dollars," 
said  Wade.  "  We  may  safely  rate  you  at  that  sum, 
Lou  ?  " 

"  Well  —  yes ;  I  think  so,"  said  Louise.  "  Only  I  rep 
resent  that  sum  rather  in  my  own  person  than  other- 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  61 

"  Nobody  would  for  a  moment  think  of  appraising  you 
at  so  low  a  figure ! "  cried  Kit  gallantly.  "  It  would  be 
a  burning  shame  to  rate  any  pretty  American  lady  at  less 
than  a  million  ! " 

"  We  are  a  rich  nation,  after  all,  then,"  said  Raed.  "  No 
debt  can  bankrupt  us  with  so  many  pretty  faces  on  our 

side  of  the  ocean." 
t 

"Haidee"  had  again  lingered  to  listen  to  this  flow 
of  nonsense,  and  now  whispered  to  her  mistress. 

"  Myrrha  wants  to  know  how  much  she  is  worth,  if  I 
am  worth  a  million,"  Louise  burst  out  a  moment  later. 

"  That's  a  question  we  must  refer  to  Wolo,"  said  Wade, 
stopping  to  get  another  pull  at  her  ear. 

The  next  moment  he  got  his  face  whisked. 

"  You  must  not  fail  to  see  the  smoking  process,"  Capt. 
Additon  said  as  we  came  back  into  the  clearing.  "  But 
that  does  not  begin  until  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  —  after  the  milk  has  ceased  to  exude,  and  has  been 
gathered.  The  seringeiros  generally  get  back  from  tap 
ping  at  about  nine  in  the  forenoon.  From  that  time  till 
noon  they  rest  and  take  their  breakfast.  Then  they 
gather  the  sap,  and  are  ready  to  begin  smoking  it  by  two 
in  the  afternoon.  To  smoke  it  properly,  takes,  after  start 
ing  the  fire,  not  far  from  two  hours." 

"Not  a  very  hard  day's  work,"  Kit  remarked.  "  An 
ordinary  New-England  laborer  would  do  double  that 
amount  of  work." 

"  Well,  even  this  is  about  as  much  as  the  Indians  here 
can  do,  and  follow  it  day  by  day,"  replied  Capt.  Additon. 
"  The  Indians  are  inferior  to  Irish  and  Anglo-American 
laborers,  and  rather  below  the  negro,  as  I  estimate  them ; 


62  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

but  much  of  this  is  directly  traceable  to  the  heat  and 
enervating  effects  of  the  climate." 

We  went  back  to  the  fazenda,  and,  after  breakfast, 
lounged  in  the  grove  and  on  the  veranda.  We  had 
brought  with  us  "  sets  "  both  of  that  silly  game,  croquet, 
and  of  le  cercle,  its  still  sillier  counterpart.  These  we  set 
up  for  the  amusement  of  the  girls,  who  had  few  enough 
opportunities  for  amusement,  Heaven  knows  !  Any  thing 
of  this  sort  was  quite  a  novelty  with  them.  And,  if  poor 
Allicia  derived  something  of  pleasure  and  healthful 
exercise  from  either,  I  am  sure  we  were  amply  repaid  for 
the  tiresome  monotony  of  the  "  mallet's  gentle  thud,"  to 
quote  from  a  recent  poetical  effusion  on  croquet. 

Thus  the  morning  passed  till  the  fierce  heats  of  mid 
day  drove  us  in-doors,  perforce,  to  lie  beneath  the  fanning 
wings  of  the  punka. 

By  three,  P.M.,  the  extreme  heat  had  moderated  in  a 
measure^  and  was  relieved  by  the  breeze  from  the  river. 

"  Now,  if  you  would  like  to  see  the  smoking  process," 
said  Capt.  Additon,  "  we  shall  find  the  seringeiros  just 
returned  from  gathering  the  milk." 

Protected  by  broad-brimmed  hats  of  palm-leaf,  or  som 
breros  of  Panama  rush,  we  went  out  again.  This 
time,  Allicia  accompanied  us.  I  saw  with  amusement 
that  our  friend  Raed  way's  sedate  phiz  brightened  mar 
vellously  at  sight  of  her  coining  out  to  join  us.  Nor 
could  I  wonder  at  it.  In  her  white  muslin  wrapper  and 
broad  hat  she  was  (again  let  me  say  that  I  found  it 
painful  to  be  a  first  cousin)  very  interesting ;  and  her 
seemingly  frail  tenure  of  life  made  us  all  regard  her  ten 
derly. 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  63 

In  the  clearing  along  the  woods-line,  a  few  rods  out 
from  the  entrance  of  each  festrada,  there  were  sheds ; 
and  from  in  front  of  each  of  these  white  smokes  were 
now  rising  in  lazy  wreaths,  and  a  peculiar  odor  was  dif 
fused  around,  —  the  same  odor  we  had  observed  at  inter 
vals  while  coming  up  the  river,  when  the  breeze  set  from 
the  shore,  —  the  odor  of  burning  palm-nuts  (Attalea 
excelsa,  which  the  Indians  call  urucuri).  We  drew 
near  to  the  one  numbered  "  14,"  that  being  next  to 
Louise's,  and  worked  by  the  Mura  Indian,  Wolo.  He 
had  just  come  in  from  his  long  walk  along  the  estrada, 
and  was  kindling  his  fire.  Near  by  was  set  a  tin  bucket, 
holding  ten  or  a  dozen  quarts,  and  now  nearly  full  of  the 
white  sap.  For  kindling  his  fire  the  Indian  used  dry 
slivers,  and  sticks  of  any  sort.  But,  as  soon  as  it  was 
well  ablaze,  he  brought  out  a  basket  of  the  palm-nuts 
from  under  the  shed.  These  nuts  are  about  two  inches 
long,  and  an  inch  across.  With  these  he  now  replen 
ished  the  fire,  and  then  covered  it  over  with  a  smoky 
vessel  of  earthenware,  which  had  a  sort  of  nose  or  gap  on 
one  side,  and  an  opening  in  the  top  (or  rather  the  bottom 
when  the  vessel  stood  right  side  up)  four  or  five  inches 
wide.  The  earthen  pan  itself  was  nearly  fifteen  inches 
high,  and  of  about  the  same  breadth.  It  thus  formed  a 
sort  of  arch  ;  air  being  admitted  at  the  bottom,  and  the 
smoke  issuing  densely  from  the  hole  at  the  top. 

This  done,  Wolo  brought  out  from  his  shed,  which 
served  him  as  a  kind  of  tool-house,  a  mould,  or  form, 
some  twelve  inches  in  length  by  eight  or  nine  in  breadth, 
rhomb  or  "diamond"  shaped,  and  slightly  oval.  Over 
the  oval  side  of  this  mould  he  next  poured  a  dipper- 


64  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

ful  of  the  milk,  and,  after  letting  it  drip  into  the  pail, 
passed  it  quickly  into  the  smoke  as  it  gushed  up  through 
the  hole  in  the  top  of  the  pan. 

Moving  it  quickly  to  and  fro,  he  held  it  in  the  smoke 
for  perhaps  half  a  minute.  By  this  time  the  smoke  had 
set  the  milk ;  and,  instead  of  a  viscid  white  sap,  there 
remained  on  the  mould  a  layer  of  fine,  tough  India-rub 
ber.  In  a  twinkling  he  had  poured  over  this  layer 
another  coat  of  milk,  and  again  passed  the  mould  into 
the  smoke,  and  so  on  thirty  or  forty  times ;  when  the 
mass  was  thick  enough  to  form  a  cake,  or,  in  native 
phrase,  a  "  skin."  The  mould  is  then  set  aside,  and  a 
new  one  taken  if  the  milk  in  the  pail  be  not  by  this 
time  exhausted.  It  is  customary  to  let  the  "  skin  "  re 
main  on  the  mould  for  at  least  twenty  hours  to  get 
thoroughly  dry. 

When  first  peeled  off,  the  cakes  are  of  a  light-gray 
color,  but  gradually  turn  darker  till  they  become  of  the 
color  which  we  are  accustomed  to  see  in  rubber. 

Two  coats  of  the  smoked  milk  will  render  cloth  water 
proof.  Rubber-shoes  require  from  six  to  eight  coats  for 
the  tops,  arid  fifteen  or  sixteen  for  the  soles. 

The  milk  loses  about  one-fourth  of  its  weight  in 
smoking ;  and  Capt.  Additon  told  us,  that,  for  three  or 
four  months,  it  often  continued  to  lose  a  little  in  weight. 

Rubber,  to  be  of  the  first  quality,  or  "  fine,"  must  have 
no  lumps,  or  clotted  milk,  in  it.  Rubber  made  on  wet 
days  is  quite  apt  to  contain  these  clots,  as  wet  coagulates 
the  milk.  But,  under  Capt.  Addi ton's  direction,  very 
little  poor  rubber  is  made  ;  though  the  Indians,  when 
working  on  their  own  account,  often  manufacture  an  in 
ferior  article. 


ON    THE   AMAZONS.  65 

The  plan  has  even  been  tried  of  sending  the  milk,  as1 
taken  from  the  trees,  to  the  United  States  in  tin  cans ; 
but  tne  method  was  found  unprofitable. 

There  is  still  another  way  of  making  the  milk  into 
rubber,  which  Capt.  Additon  explained,  but  which  we 
did  not  see  in  practice.  It  consists  of  mixing  the  milk 
with  certain  chemicals  (the  precise  nature  of  which  is 
somewhat  of  a  secret,  we  were  told;  though  the  bulk  of 
the  substance  is  known  to  be  alum),  according  to  a  pro 
cess  discovered  by  Senhor  Strauss,  who  did  not  live  to 
perfect  the  invention ;  but,  at  present,  rubber  made  by 
this  process  is  held  to  be  of  inferior  quality. 

All  these  items  of  the  business  we  learned  from  Capt. 
Additon,  while  watching  Wolo,  and  keeping  as  much  in 
the  shadow  of  the  shed  as  possible;  for  the  sun  still 
smote  hotly  under  the  lee  of  the  woods. 

Including  the  sap  from  Louise's  estrada,  Wolo  had 
made  two  cakes  that  afternoon,  which  would  have 
weighed  together  fully  sixteen  pounds.  The  average 
per  day  was  not  far  from  ten  pounds,  Capt.  Additon 
said. 

"Then,  from  the  twenty  estradas,  there  must  come 
about  two  hundred  pounds  a  day,"  Wade  observed. 
"  Now,  father,  let  me  ask  a  leading  question." 

"  Certainly,  Wade." 

"  What  is  rubber  worth  a  pound  ?  " 

"  I  see  you  are  figuring  me  up,"  said  Capt.  Additon, 
laughing.  "  Well,  at  Para,  where  I  send  my  rubber 
direct,  I  receive  about  two  shillings  (English)  per  pound, 
or  fifty  cents,  nearly,  in  United-States  money.  And 
I  will  assist  your  calculation  a  Ijttle  by  giving  you  the 


66  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

exact  number  of  pounds  made  here  during  the  year  end 
ing  with  July.  I  find  that  T  have  sent  to  Para  forty- 
three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-four  (43,954) 
pounds,  or  not  far  from  twenty-two  thousand  (22,000) 
dollars'  worth." 

So  handsome  a  sum  from  a  single  product  made  us  all 
open  our  eyes  a  little. 

"But  the  off-sets,"  observed  Wade,  —  "  the  freight, 
and  the  cost  of  provisions,  wages,  &c.  :  what  of 
those  ?  " 

"  Altogether,  for  the  same  time,  the  expenses  have 
been  but  little  rising  seven  thousand  (7,000)  dollars," 
said  his  father. 

Wade's  countenance  rose  wonderfully  at  this  state 
ment.  To  find  his  family  in  a  state  of  semi-poverty 
somewhere  up  the  Amazons,  had  been,  as  I  all  along 
knew,  one  of  the  great  bugbears  of  his  life.  Surely 
a  net  yearly  profit  of  near  fifteen  thousand  (15,000)  dol 
lars  on  the  single  item  of  rubber  was  a  soothing  fact  to 
start  with.  It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that  neither 
the  cotton,  the  cocoa,  nor  the  mandioca  crops  had  yet 
proved  nearly  so  remunerative  as  the  seringa-groves. 

I  noticed  that  Raed  had  fallen  into  a  meditative  mood. 
Presently  he  asked  whether  a  grant  of  lands  on  the  Ama 
zons  could  be  obtained  by  any  one  proposing  to  settle  for 
the  purpose  of  rubber  manufacture.  Capt.  Additon 
replied,  that,  farther  up  the  river,  the  president  of  the 
province  (Amazonas)  was  empowered  to  grant  half  a 
square  league  to  any  applicant  intending  to  settle;  and 
he  had  no  doubt,  that,  by  special  application,  something 
better  might  be  obtained,  as  land  up  the  river  had  little 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  67 

market- value.  What  the  country  stood  most  in  need  of 
was  inhabitants. 

"  Are  these  urucuri-nuts,  which  are  used  in  smoking 
the  milk,  plenty  all  about  ?  "  Kit  asked. 

"  Generally,  they  are.  The  tree  is  pretty  common  all 
along  the  Amazons  and  its  tributaries.  There  are  locali 
ties,  however,  where  it  is  rare ;  and  it  is  far  from  being 
as  plenty  as  I  could  wish  it  here.  The  Attalea  excelsa 
is  scattered  sparingly  all  through  the  tract  in  my  posses 
sion,  —  here  and  there  a  tree  :  but  the  work  of  collecting 
the  nuts  is  considerable ;  so  much  so,  that  I  am  now 
bringing  the  most  of  those  we  use  from  the  shore  of  a 
lake  about  ten  miles  distant,  where  there  is  an  extensive 
grove  of  the  trees  which  no  one  seems  to  claim.  I  have 
to  send  a  montaria  every  second  day  for  a  load ;  for  we 
use  a  considerable  quantity." 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  Morning  on  the  Amazons.  —  Raed's  India-Rubber  Project.  — 
How  Young  Americans  need  to  be  educated.  —  Some  Resolves.  — 
The  College  Steamship.  —  How  shall  Funds  be  raised  ?  —  Will 
there  be  Opposition  ?  —  Wade  brings  up  a  rather  Embarrassing 
Reminiscence. 

THAT  night,  Wade  had  the  misfortune  to  kick  his 
mosquito-net  down.  The  insects  —  which  Kit  de 
clared  were  large  enough  to  be  called  birds  —  speedily 
took  advantage  of  this  mishap.  They  set  upon  him  so 
ravenously,  that,  long  before  sunrise,  he  was  glad,  after  a 
sharp  fight,  to  get  up  and  dress. 

This  aroused  the  rest  of  us,  whose  hammocks  (every 
body  sleeps  in  a  gay-colored  hammock  on  the  Amazons) 
were  in  the  same  large  sleeping-apartment.  We  all 
turned  out,  and,  going  down  to  the  wharf,  got  into  a 
montaria  (canoe)  for  a  smart  row  up  the  river. 

At  this  hour  of  the  morning  the  air  was  cool.  How 
ever  hot  the  day  may  have  been,  the  night  is  always 
cool,  —  a  fact  owing  to  the  great  amount  of  moisture, 
probably.  The  felling  of  the  forests  along  the  river  will, 
no  doubt,  greatly  modify  this  condition  of  the  tempera- 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  69 

ture  ;  since  these  tropical  forests  are  so  many  sponges  for 
the  absorption  and  retention  of  the  rains. 

As  we  came  on  to  the  wharf,  Sanders  looked  out  at  a 
second-floor  window  of  one  of  the  warehouses.  Protrud 
ing  over  the  window-sill  was  a  bayonet,  and  the  muzzle 
of  a  carbine.  Watchful  a§  a  hound,  he  had  heard  us  in 
stantly  from  his  kenneL  Raed  christened  him  "  Cerbe 
rus  "  at  sight. 

In  Johnson  and  Sanders  Capt.  Additon  had  a  very 
efficient  garrison.  With  their  military  training,  and  skill 
in  the  use  of  fire-arms,  I  would  have  matched  either  of 
them  against  any  band  of  prowling  Indians.  A  "  seven- 
shooter"  carbine  and  a  revolver,  in  such  hands,  go  a 
good  way. 

The  river  was  smooth  ;  but  we  found  the  current  suffi 
cient  to  require  a  constant  use  of  the  oars  to  breast  it. 

The  ordinary  montaria  does  not  differ  much  from  the 
bateaux  of  northern  waters ;  though  some  of  these  are 
made  from  a  single  samauma-log,  dug  out  like  a  Cana 
dian  pirogue. 

A  light  mist  had  risen.  The  opposite  shore  seemed 
far  off,  and  was  partially  obscured.  Here  and  there  a 
turtle's  black  head  was  popped  up ;  and  at  some  little 
distance  up-stream  we  saw  the  rough  back  of  a  cayman 
rise  to  the  surface,  then  make  in  toward  the  shore. 

"  This  is  a  great  country,"  observed  Kit,  his  feelings 
finding  vent  in  that  national  phrase  of  the  Yankee. 

"  Well,  fellows,"  Eaed  began,  in  that  particular  tone 
which  we  had  come  to  recognize  as  prophetic  of  some 
thing  important  coming  "  before  the  house,"  "  I  think 
I've  struck  the  idea  at  last." 


70  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

"  Good  !  "  we  all  said  encouragingly.   "  Let's  hear  it ! " 

"  It  is  compressed  in  one  word,"  Raed  continued,  — 
"India-rubber." 

"  But  that's  two  words,"  objected  Kit. 

"  No  ;  it's  a  compound  word,"  corrected  Raed.  "  But 
change  it,  if  you  like,  to  caoutchouc.  And  now  let's  talk 
seriously.  I  believe,  that,  when  we  last  discussed  the 
subject  of  Yachting  in  connection  with  our  plan  of  self- 
education,  we  were  unanimous  in  the  conclusion  that  we 
had  solved  the  problem  of  education  for  our  American 
youth.  What  we  want  is  to  combine  study  with  travel 
and  observation.  All  our  experience  on  board  the  yacht 
has  strengthened  us  in  this  conclusion ;  namely,  that  it 
does  not  pay  for  a  young  man  to  plant  himself  for  four 
years  in  a  little  provincial  town  like  Hanover  (Dart 
mouth),  Brunswick  (Bowdoin),  Amherst  (Amherst), 
Middletown  (Wesleyan  University),  or  even  at  New 
Haven  or  Cambridge.  However  conscientiously  he  may 
pursue  the  studies  taught  at  these  colleges,  he  cannot 
hope  to  become  educated  in  the  best  sense  of  that  word. 
A  higher  and  better  method  of  education  is  now  possible 
for  young  men.  It  is  now  practicable  for  young  Ameri 
cans  to  study,  and  at  the  same  time  travel,  and  observe 
men  and  things,  over  the  whole  world  ;  and  this  may  be 
done  in  four  years'  time,  at  an  expense  of  not  over  a 
thousand  (1,000)  dollars  per  year  for  each  student.  — 
Mr.  Secretary,  will  you  please  ship  your  oar,  and  read 
from  your  memoranda  the  resolves  which  embody  the 
substance  of  our  last  discussion  and  conclusions  ?  ''* 

Wade  compiled,  and  began  to  read  from  his  note-book 
as  follows  :  — 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  71 

"'Off  Fayal,  Aug.  10,  187  — '  " 

"  Oh,  never  mind  the  preliminaries ! "  interrupted  K-aed. 
"  Bead  the  first  three  resolves  then  taken." 

"Ay,  sir.  i  Resolved,  first,  that  the  present  system 
of  collegiate  study  in  the  United  States  —  formulated  as 
it  is  from  the  old  monastic  system  of  Europe  —  is  illy 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  American  youth  of  the  present 
century,  whose  needs  urgently  demand  a  radical  reform, 
—  one  which  shall  imply  something  more  than  a  mere 
change  of  text-hooks,  or  the  partial  substitution  of 
scientific  studies  for  Greek  and  Latin. 

" '  Resolved,  second,  that  travel  abroad  is  the  most 
efficient  means  to  a  correct  education. 

" '  Resolved,  third,  that  the  great  discoveries  of  the 
past  century,  facilitating  locomotion,  should  be  utilized 
to  promote  the  education  of  our  youth. 

"  '  And,  in  consideration  of  the  above  resolves,  it  is 
submitted,  that,  in  place  of  the  old-time  college  station 
ary  in  some  retired  corner  of  the  country,  there  be  sub 
stituted  a  steamship,  equal  in  tonnage  and  motive-power 
to  those  of  the  Cunard  or  Inman  line  now  plying  on 
the  North  Atlantic,  and  fitted  up  with  library,  lecture- 
rooms,  &c.,  together  with  state-rooms  and  accommoda 
tions  for  a  hundred  students  to  a  vessel ;  and  having, 
moreover,  attached  to  each  of  such  college  steamers  a 
regular  faculty  of  instruction  and  government,  to  in 
clude  a  president,  professors,  and  scientific  lecturers. 

" '  It  is  furthermore  submitted,  that  the  course  of 
study  on  such  a  college  steamship  should  extend  over  a 
four-years'  connection  with  it,  to  include  four  annual 
cruises. 


72  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

"'And  it  is  suggested  that  the  first  annual  cruise 
comprise  a  summer  voyage  into  waters  north  of  the 
Arctic  Circle,  in  order  to  study  glacial  action  in  connec 
tion  with  geology ;  the  summer  voyage  to  be  supple 
mented  by  a  winter  voyage  to  the  tropic,  —  the  West  In 
dies  and  valley  of  the  Amazons. 

"'Suggested  that  the  second  annual  cruise  be  made 
into  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  to  visit  Rome,  Athens, 
Jerusalem,  Alexandria,  in  connection  with  a  critical 
study  of  the  ancient  progress  of  the  Indo-European  race 
and  its  philology. 

"  'Suggested  that  the  third  annual  cruise  be  made  to 
India,  China,  and  Japan,  via  the  Suez  Canal ;  thence 
to  the  west  coast  of  America,  and  return  home  round 
Cape  Horn. 

" '  Suggested  that  the  fourth  cruise  should  be  made 
to  Western  Europe,  —  London,  Paris,  Berlin,  St.  Peters 
burg, —  in  connection  with  the  study  of  international 
and  commercial  law,  together  with  a  comparative 
study  of  the  different  forms  of  government,  and  a  sum 
mary  of  the  wealth  and  resources  of  modern  Europe.' " 

"  Yes ;  that's  what  we  talked,"  said  Kaed  medita 
tively.  "  That's  the  sort  of  education  the  young  men 
of  this  country  need.  We  find  the  old  college  system 
which  we  got  from  Europe  just  as  unsuitable  to  our 
wants  as  we  long  ago  found  their  monarchical  forms  of 
government.  We  want  a  progressive  national  system  of 
education.  The  true  American  college  must  be  founded 
in  and  have  the  aid  of  the  great  scientific  discoveries  of 
the  country.  It  must  go  by  steam,  and  embrace  a  survey 
of  the  whole  earth.  Its  character  must  be  thoroughly 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  73 

cosmopolitan.  A  few  thousand  young  men  educated  on 
the  above  plan,  and  infused  into  the  masses  of  our  popu 
lation,  would  soon  purge  out  the  old-fogy  ism  which  now 
BO  impedes  our  national  progress.  Now,  fellows,  let's 
renew  our  pledges  to  each  other,  never  to  rest  till  we've 
established  the  future  American  college" 

"The  only  thing  we  need  is  money,"  Kit  observed. 
"  We  are  already  in  correspondence  with  over  a  hun 
dred  young  fellows  who  are  ready  to  enter  our  college 
steamer  when  once  she  is  afloat." 

"  I  think,"  said  Wade,  "  that  you  under-estimate  the 
opposition  which  so  bold  and  progressive  a  plan  will  not 
fail  to  excite." 

"  Why,  who  will  oppose  ?  "  Kit  asked. 

"First  and  foremost,  all  the  teachers  and  professors 
now  comfortably  settled  and  salaried  at  our  local  col 
leges.  They  will  oppose  it  from  purely  personal  motives, 
as  a  matter  of  course :  they  will  cry  out  that  it  is  im 
practicable,  —  wholly  impracticable  ! " 

"  Well,  we  must  expect  this,  and  meet  it  coolly/'  Raed 
remarked. 

"  Then  there  is  the  great  mass  of  clergymen  educated 
at  the  colleges,"  Wade  resumed.  "  Not  one  in  five  of 
the  clergymen  of  the  United  States  but  would  oppose  a 
scheme  of  education  so  strongly  scientific." 

"  There  I  differ  from  you,"  said  Eaed.  "  I  think  that 
the  better  class  of  the  clergy  would  support  us  when 
once  our  plan  was  correctly  set  forth." 

"  Well,  I  hope  you  are  right,"  Wade  replied.  "  But, 
when  I  hear  a  college-bred  clergyman  of  the  Congrega- 
tionalist  denomination  devote  a  whole  sabbath  morning 


74  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

to  a  denunciation  of  Tyndall  and  Huxley,  I  lose  faith  in 
them.  They  generally  hang  together  pretty  well,  these 
sectarian  clergymen.  Then  the  colleges  are  all  under 
denominational  influence ;  and  hence  every  sectarian 
clergyman  would  think  himself  doing  God's  service  in 
working  against  any  thing  which  tended  to  deprecinie 
these  local  colleges." 

"  Oh  !  you  judge  a  little  too  harshly,"  Eaed  laughed. 

"  Well,  I  honestly  hope  I  do,"  Wade  replied.  "  Then 
there  is  always  another  sort  of  opposition,  which  comes 
from  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  who  could  not  com 
prehend  our  plan,  and,  for  that  very  reason,  would  resent 
it  and  oppose  it." 

"  We  care  nothing  for  opposition  of  that  sort ! "  ex 
claimed  Kit,  who  had  been  getting  nervous  under  this 
array  of  hostile  sentiment.  "The  thing  we  need  is 
money.  With  money  we  can  set  them  all  at  defiance." 

"  Well,  that's  just  it,"  said  Wade.  "  We  haven't  got 
the  money,  —  not  enough  to  do  any  thing.  We  must  rely 
on  endowments.  Now,  the  men  who  endow  colleges  are 
mostly  elderly  men  of  business,  —  men,  as  you  may  say, 
of  the  past  generation  ;  and  they  give  mainly  at  the 
instigation  of  grave  D.D.'s  whose  classmates  they  have 
been  in  youth.  They  give  pretty  freely  and  generously 
too,  but  always  to  regularly-established  schools  of  the  old- 
time  model.  It  would,  I  apprehend,  be  pretty  hard  to 
get  them  to  give  to  any  thing  else.  Men,  after  they  get 
to  be  sixty  years  old,  do  not  have  any  great  capacity,  as 
a  rule,  for  entertaining  new  ideas,  or  projecting  new  and 
progressive  enterprises." 

"  There  are  exceptions  to  this  rule,  Wade,"  said  Raed. 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  75 

"  We  have  a  few  men  of  the  Vanderbilt  and  Stewart  type, 
who  will,  I  hope,  if  the  plan  be  rightly  and  clearly  set 
forth,  at  once  see  its  grand  significance  and  scope.  These 
are  the  men  we  must  go  to ;  and  it  will  be  fitting  that 
from  these  great  princes  of  commerce  the  future  American 
college  shall  date.  A  man  who  deals  in  the  products  of 
all  lands  will  at  once  recognize  the  idea  on  which  we 
found  our  scheme. 

"  I  say,  the  future  American  college;  for  we  have,  as 
yet,  no  American  college :  we  have  only  an  imitation  — 
and  a  very  bad  one  to  boot  —  of  the  English  and  German 
universities,  which  have  succeeded  the  monasteries.  Such 
institutions  will  never  permanently  thrive  on  American 
soil,  for  the  reason  that  our  young  people  need  an  edu 
cation  of  a  different  sort." 

"  In  the  first  place,"  said  Kit,  whose  mind  leads  him 
strongly  to  the  practical  details,  "  we  need  funds,  either 
to  build  or  purchase  a  steamship.  Then  we  need  endow 
ments  for  professorships,  and  a  full  board  of  instruction 
and  government.  The  expenses  of  running  the  vessel 
must  come  from  the  students.  One  hundred  thousand 
(100,000)  dollars  per  year  ought  to  pay  for  coal,  crew, 
and  provisions.  That  will  be  a  thousand  dollars  apiece 
for  a  hundred  students.  The  students  will  be  on  hand 
whenever  the  vessel  is.  Our  American  boys  are  getting 
their  eyes  open  on  this  subject  pretty  wide.  They  are 
about  sick  of  wasting  their  time  on  Greek,  Latin,  and 
metaphysics.  The  world  is  the  book  they  need  and 
want  to  study.  I  know  fifty  fellows  who  will  put  down 
their  thousand  apiece  to  start  with ;  and  we  have  heard 
from  over  a  hundred  more  who  are  pretty  sure  they  will 


76  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

go,  —  got  to  talk  with  paterfamilias,  I  suppose.  And 
only  see  how  the  students  turned  out  for  Prof.  Agas- 
siz's  school  at  Penikese  Island !  The  professor  is  a 
man  who  knows  what  travel  and  observation  are  worth, 
and  how  little  it  amounts  to  for  a  boy  to  coop  himself  up, 
and  merely  study  books.  Not  a  text-book  at  his  Peni 
kese  school,  I've  heard !  That's  a  step  in  the  right 
direction." 

"  We  must  spend  the  winter  trying  to  get  our  plan 
favorably  considered  by  men  of  the  right  sort  who  can 
forward  it,"  said  Eaed. 

I  thought  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  enter  into  cor 
respondence  with  young  men  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States,  and  find  out  definitely,  and  to  the  farthest  pos 
sible  extent,  the  sentiment  of  the  people  —  the  young 
people  —  on  the  subject;  and,  in  this  particular,  my 
comrades  agreed  with  me,  that  we  should  seek  the  ear 
nest  co-operation  and  moral  support  of  every  intelligent 
young  American. 

"  Money  is  needed ;  and  money  must  be  raised  before 
we  can  take  a  step  in  reality,"  E/aed  remarked.  "And, 
if  the  men  who  have  property  to  give  for  educational 
support  will  not  second  us,  we  must  devise  some  other 
means  to  obtain  funds.  That's  what  I  meant  by  the 
rubber  idea.  It  came  to  my  mind  with  a  flash  last 
evening,  when  Capt.  Additon  was  telling  us  of  the 
rubber-trade,  and  the  ease  with  which  grants  of  land 
were  obtained  on  the  Amazons.  What's  to  hinder  our 
getting  a  grant,  four  of  us  together,  and  going  into  the 
rubber-manufacture  ?  It  is  not  a  business  which  requires 
much  capital :  twenty  thousand  dollars  would  start  us  off 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  77 

handsomely.  We  could  bring  down  some  good  live 
Yankees  from  New  England  to  oversee  the  business,  on 
a  salary.  I  see  nothing  to  hinder  our  employing  four  or 
five  hundred  Indians  to  work  the  estradas  for  us.  Six 
or  eight  intelligent  overseers,  on  a  salary  each  of,  say, 
two  thousand  dollars  per  year,  would  keep  the  Indians 
going.  If  twenty  Indians,  well  fed  and  kept  at  work, 
will  manufacture  forty  thousand  pounds  of  rubber,  giving 
a  profit  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  what  will  hinder 
twenty-five  times  that  number  from  giving  a  profit  of 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  (375,000) 
dollars  ?  Surely,  the  larger  the  business,  the  less  should 
be  the  proportionate  expense.  But,  even  supposing  the 
net  profit  was  not  so  great  in  proportion  as  Capt.  Ad- 
djton's  by  two-fifths,  we  should  still  have  the  problem 
solved  for  us.  Two  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year 
would  charter  a  steamer,  and  run  it,  besides  paying  a 
fair  corps  of  instructors." 

"What  a  chance  to  make  a  private  fortune!"  Kit 
thoughtfully  remarked. 

"Private  fortunes  must  stay  in  the  background  at 
present,"  observed  Raed.  "We  are  not  to  so  much  as 
think  of  our  own  pockets  till  the  future  American  col 
lege  is  afloat.  Then  we  will  see  about  them." 

"  That's  rather  hard  on  Kit,"  Wade  remarked  signifi 
cantly.  "  But  never  mind,  Kit :  Miss  Kate  is  remarka 
bly  constant,  as  I  can  testify  to  my  cost." 

At  this  unexpected  disclosure  of  private  information, 
Kit  got  very  red,  and  looked  helplessly  at  us. 

Since  our  winter  in  Maine  on  the  fox-hunting  tour, 
Miss  Edwards's  name  had  never  been  mentioned  by  any 


78  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

of  us  till  that  moment.  Of  course,  after  reading  Raed's 
scurrilous  and  shamefully  personal  volume,*  there  could 
be  no  longer  any  secret  as  to  where  the  joke  lay  that 
winter.  But  each  one  of  us  had  a  motive  for  keeping 
quiet ;  and  even  now  the  fair  lady's  name  had  much 
the  effect  of  a  hand-grenade  tossed  into  our  montaria. 

Kaed  remarked  rather  hastily,  that  he  thought  coffee 
would  be  waiting. 

We  rowed  back  down  to  the  wharf  in  a  sort  of  nothing- 
to-say  silence. 

But  the  rather  colossal  project  of  rubber-making,  with 
which  Raed  had  electrified  us,  kept  recurring. 

*  Vol.  V.  of  this  series. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

An  Excursion  after  Umcuri-Nuts.  —  Crossing  the  Amazons.  -  - 
Tropical  Trees.  —  Igarapgs  and  Paranas.  —  A  Leaf-arched  Chan 
nel.  —  White  Monkeys.  —  Lake  Castanea.  —  Louise's  Map.  — 
The  Urucuri-Grove.  —  Showers  of  Nuts.  —  The  Sapucaia.  — 
Brazil-Nuts.  —  Monkey-Pots.  —  Louise's  Narrow  Escape.  — An 
Adventure  with  Peccaries. 

~T~OHNSON  was  getting  a  ino)itaria'TeB,dy  to  send 
tJ  after  urucuri-nuts.  While  we  were  taking  choco 
late,  he  came  on  to  the  veranda  for  his  carbine. 

Wade  suggested  that  we  should  accompany  the  excur 
sion,  if  there  was  room  in  the  boat. 

"  I  was  about  to  propose  your  going,"  Capt.  Additon 
observed.  "  It  is  a  very  pleasant  trip.  My  boatmen 
nearly  always  have  an  adventure  of  some  sort." 

"  Dear  me  !  I  hope  your  arrangement  is  not  going  to 
leave  me  out ! "  cried  Louise,  who  had  just  come  down. 

"  Too  bad  !  "  laughed  Wade. 

"  Well,  I  think  so,57  said  Louise  with  a  well-feigned 
pout.  "By  the  time  you've  lived  here  as  long  as  I 
have,  —  if  you  ever  do,  —  you  will  be  glad  to  make  the 
most  of  your  company,  especially  when  they  have  been 
so  long  coming  as  you  have." 

79 


80  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

"  Cannot  Miss  Additon  go  too  ?  "  Kit  asked. 

"Yes,  father,  take  me!  don't  think  of  going  vvitlnut 
me  !  Let  me  see :  you  will  want  to  carry  a  lunch.  I'll 
go  immediately  and  put  you  up  a  delicious  one." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Capt.  Additon.  "  See  what  your 
mother  says.  I  suppose  you  can  go.  But  you  know 
they  sometimes  see  jaguars  over  there." 

u  Oh,  bugaboo  !  They  are  alwaj^s  seeing  jaguars.  They 
talk  jaguars  to  frighten  me,  Wade.  But  I've  come  to 
believe  that  jaguars  are  all  a  hoax." 

Louise  ran  off  to  the  kitchen  to  have  a  lunch  put  up. 

Her  father  laughed. 

As  the  montaria  would  be  rather  crowded  with  us  all, 
we  offered  to  bear  a  hand  at  the  oars  in  place  of  two 
of  the  four  regular  boatmen.  To  this  Johnson  readily 
assented,  grinning  a  little  at  the  idea  of  our  pulling  a 
montaria;  but  we  assured  him  that  we  had  raised  a 
"  white  ash  breeze  "  on  more  than  one  river  of  the  con 
tinent. 

Meanwhile,  as  Aunt  Emma  and  Allicia  would  be  alone 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  Sanders  was  called  up 
from  the  wharf  to  guard  the  house  with  a  loaded  carbine, 
and  an  Indian  with  a  Minie-rifle  left  in  his  place  at 
the  warehouses. 

It  seemed  a  little  queer  to  see  with  what  military  prep 
aration  all  movements  here  were  attended.  Capt.  Addi 
ton  assured  us  that  he  never  left  the  fazenda  unguard 
ed.  He  did  not  know  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  : 
still,  as  suspicious-looking  Indians  and  Zamboes  were 
often  passing,  he  never  meant  to  be  found  defenceless, 
rightly  judging  that  to  be  unarmed  is  to  provoke  attack. 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  81 

Louise  soon  re-appeared,  clad  in  a  short  gray  walking- 
dress,  her  face  protected  by  the  usual  broad  hat,  and 
shod  in  a  brave  pair  of  waterproof  boots.  Surely,  when 
young  ladies  will  dress  thus  sensibly,  they  have  no  need 
to  be  cooped  up  at  home,  as  they  so  often  complain  of 
being. 

We  went  down  to  the  wharf,  where  we  found  the  mon- 
taria  already  manned,  and  lying  off  in  waiting.  It  was 
a  strongly-built  craft,  of  hard,  dark  wood,  and  of  about 
two  tons  burden.  A  little  abaft  the  middle,  a  gondola- 
like  awning,  or  roof,  of  bent-cane  poles  and  canvas, 
made  a  very  pretty  shelter  for  our  lady-passenger,  who 
could  thus  sit  facing  the  rowers. 

As  we  were  going  on  a  nut-gathering  excursion,  sev 
eral  large  baskets  h;id  been  shipped,  besides  the  lunch- 
basket,  which  Myrrha  came  scornfully  bearing  from  the 
kitchen. 

"  Enough  to  feed  a  drove  of  pigs,"  she  solaced  herself 
by  saying,  and  then  settled  daintily  on  the  seat  behind 
her  mistress,  having  first  set  the  lunch-basket  on  the  seat 
beside  Louise,  with  an  air  of  bidding  her  look  to  it  if 
she  set  any  value  on  it.  We  all  laughed ;  at  which  she 
gave  her  head  a  pert  toss,  and  began  to  whisk  her  fan 
very  suggestively. 

Wade  and  I  took  the  rowers'  seat  at  first,  in  front  of 
the  two  Indian  rowers,  —  one  of  whom  was  the  tattooed 
Mundurucu  Indian,  Palo ;  the  other  a  Bolivian  Indian, 
named  Manoel. 

The  sun  was  just  rising  out  of  the  river  far  down 
stream  to  the  eastward,  which  showed  a  clear  water 
horizon  in  that  direction. 


82  ON    THE    AMAZONS. 

At  first  I  had  supposed  the  lake  where  the  urucuri- 
nuts  grew  was  somewhere  along  the  north  shore :  but 
Johnson,  who  steered  the  boat,  turned  her  head  for  the 
mid  channel ;  and  I  now  learned  that  we  were  to  cross 
to  the  southern  shore. 

To  cross  the  Amazons  is  something  of  a  voyage  in  an 
open  boat.  Any  one  who  doubts  it  has  only  to  attempt 
the  feat  of  rowing  across.  If  he  does  not  thereby  acquire 
an  idea  of  the  grandeur  and  volume  of  the  river,  T  pity  him. 
Long  before  we  were  half  across,  Wade  and  I  were  glad 
to  yield  our  places  at  the  oars  to  Raed  and  Kit.  Even 
at  this  distance  from  the  sea,  the  channel  is  full  five 
miles  in  breadth,  with  a  current  so  strong,  that  the  mon- 
taria  had  to  be  kept  heading  diagonally  up-stream  to 
avoid  being  carried  out  of  her  course. 

We  were  fully  two  hours  crossing. 

The  water  is  of  a  pale-yellow  hue,  and  seems  to  contain 
vast  quantities  of  alluvial  matter.  Slowly  and  surely 
the  mighty  river  works  to  carry  the  continent  down  to 
the  ocean.  On  the  vast  bosom  of  this  queen  of  waters 
our  little  montaria  seemed  but  a  cockle-shell,  buffeted 
and  tossed  about  quite  resistlessly. 

To  me,  the  sight  of  the  Amazons,  pouring  its  waters 
with  that  strong  majestic  sweep,  will  ever  be  one  of  the 
grandest  objects  in  nature. 

The  opposite  bank  was  heavily  wooded  down  to  the 
very  water.  The  aninga-shrubs,  with  large,  heart-shaped 
leaves  on  their  tall  stems,  intermingled  with  murici-plants 
of  lower  growth,  formed  a  thick  hedge,  over  which  the 
lithe  gray  trunks  of  seringas  and  the  white  columns 
of  the  samaumas  rose  in  rank  luxuriance ;  while  above 


ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

them  all  towered  the  gracefully-slender  assai-palm,  with 
its  light  plume  of  drooping  leaves,  and  bunches  of  berry- 
like  fruit. 

Nor  was  the  beautiful  assai  the  only  palrn  along  this 
richly-clad  bank.  Here  and  there  a  miriti,  with  enor 
mous  fan-like  leaves  cut  into  ribbons,  which  sway  heavily 
to  and  fro,  displays  its  load  of  reddish  fruit.  And,  as  we 
pulled  along  the  shore,  Capt.  Additon  pointed  out  still 
another,  —  the  jupati,  with  leaves  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in 
length,  drooping  gracefully  over  till  they  swept  the  tops 
of  the  aningas.  Through  vistas,  too,  we  caught  sight  of 
the  munguba,  with  oval,  red  fruit;  and  sometimes  an 
imbauba-tree. 

What  a  contrast  to  the  maple  and  spruce  woods  of 
Maine,  or  the  fir-thickets  of  Labrador  ! 

We  had  formed  no  idea,  till  then,  of  the  rankness  and 
volume  of  these  tropical  forests. 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  higher  up  the  bank,  a  creek 
opened  into  the  forest,  — a  channel  such  as  in  Louisiana 
and  Mississippi  would  be  termed  a  "  bayou,"  and  in  North 
ern  Maine  a  "  spokelogan  :"  so  Kit  and  Wade  explained. 

"  But  the  Indians  here  have  still  a  prettier  name  for 
them,"  said  Louise.  "  They  call  these  creeks  igarapes, 
or  'boat-paths/" 

Capt.  Additon  explained  that  a  bayou  was  termed  an 
igarape  only  when  it  led  round  the  main  river  again. 
An  igarape  was  simply  a  "  run-round."  A  creek  leading 
into  the  river  from  the  back-country  was  always  &parana, 
or  "  stream,"  and  was  distinguished  as  to  size  by  the  adjec 
tives  assu  and  mirim,  "  great "  and  "  small ;  "  as  parana* 
assu  and  parana-mirim. 


84  ON    THE    AMAZONS. 

Tlie  montaria's  prow  was  turned  into  tlie  parana,  and 
was  soon  deep  in  the  shadow  of  tlie  forest,  which  formed 
a  complete  arch  of  foliage  overhead,  so  dense  that  the 
creek  beneath  looked  black  as  ink,  and  the  place  had  the 
dim  gloom  of  twilight.  It  seemed  to  me  that  a  heavy 
shower  of  rain  would  hardly  penetrate  this  great  natural 
roof. 

The  channel  itself  was  not  more  than  fifteen  feet 
wide  on  an  average,  but  so  deep  that  we  could  not  often 
touch  bottom  with  our  oars,  even  when  thrust  down  close 
to  the  bank. 

After  entering  the  parana,  the  Indians  shipped  their 
paddles,  and,  taking  up  some  long  poles,  proceeded  to 
pole  the  motif-aria  along  the  channel  much  as  our  North 
ern  lumbermen  pole  their  bateaux. 

'Twas  like  a  voyage  in  fairy-land.  Climbing  vines 
and  many  varieties  of  gay-colored  convolvulus  wreathed 
the  trees,  and  hung  pendent  from  the  branches  ;  and  a 
strange  blending  of  perfume  was  distilled  from  the  white, 
purple,  and  bright  crimson  blossoms.  Never  had  we  seen 
such  profusion  and  luxuriance  of  plant-life.  What  in 
the  temperate  zone  Nature  had  given  but  sparingly  was 
here  lavished  wantonly.  No  scraggy  nook  was  too  poor 
to  be  adorned,  nay,  smothered,  with  flowers  of  richest 
and  gaudiest  tint. 

As  we  were  sped  rapidly  along  by  the  practised  hands 
of  the  Indians,  a  chattering  was  heard  on  a  sudden ;  and 
1  caught  an  instant  glimpse  of  three  or  four  white  mon 
keys  scampering  off  through  the  greenery  overhead. 
They  had  seen  us,  and  were  dispersing  on  the  instant. 
Palo  caught  up  his  zarabatana  (a  long  tube  of  reed, 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  85 

through  which  an  arrow  is  shot  by  a  quick  blast  of  th  j 
breath)  ;  but  they  were  out  of  sight  before  he  couM 
bring  it  to  his  mouth. 

We  were  a  little  disappointed  in  the  monkeys  of  the 
Amazons.  We  had  expected  to  find  them  as  plentiful  and 
as  bold  as  red  squirrels  in  a  Northern  forest:  on  the 
contrary,  they  are  the  shyest  of  sylvan  denizens.  On  but 
few  occasions  did  we  even  get  a  glimpse  of  them;  though 
their  bowlings  at  night  sufficiently  indicated  their  pres 
ence.  The  reason  of  this  timidity  is  not  far  to  seek.  The 
Indians  hunt  them  remorselessly  for  their  flesh,  which 
is  esteemed  very  good  eating ;  and  so,  for  that  matter, 
is  the  flesh  of  good  missionaries  by  our  Fiji  brethren. 

Here  and  there,  other  channels  opened  into  the  bayou 
we  were  following.  The  whole  region  adjacent  to  the 
main  river  seems  cut  up  by  these  creeks  in  a  network. 
Often  they  are  surprisingly  deep.  The  Indians  cross 
them  on  fallen  trunks,  or  on  logs  which  they  have  them 
selves  cut  and  thrown  across. 

About  three  miles  of  the  bayou  had  been  poled  over, 
when  I  noticed  a  lightening-up  of  the  sombre  boat-path 
ahead  ;  and  in  a  few  moments  we  emerged  upon  a  small 
lake  of  perhaps  six  miles  circuit.  This  was  the  urucuri- 
nut  lake.  Like  hundreds  of  these  little  expanses  on 
both  sides  of  the  river,  it  has  no  proper  name,  and  no 
mention  on  the  maps  :  so  Capt.  Additon  told  us. 

"  But  I  have  named  it,"  said  Louise.  "  I  call  it  'Cas- 
tanea  Lake,'  because  they  bring  castanea  or  Brazil 
nuts  from  its  shores.  That  is,  I  believe,  a  legitimate 
method  of  christening,  —  from  some  product  or  circum 
stance  connected  with  it :  is  it  not  ?  " 


86  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

"  Most  assuredly/'  replied  Raed. 

"  Louise  is  getting  up  a  map  of  the  country  about  the 
fazenda  here,"  Capt.  Additon  observed. 

"  Bravo !  a  geographer,  as  well  as  a  self-made  heiress ! " 
applauded  Wade. 

"  Yes,  indeed  !  "  Louise  laughed.  "  When  it  is  com 
plete  for  a  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  along  the  river, 
I  am  going  to  forward  a  neat  copy  to  the  emperor,  Dom 
Pedro  II.,  if  you  please.  It  will  go  hard  if  that  is  not 
followed  by  a  pretty  testimonial  from  his  Majesty.  And 
then  who  knows  but  it  may  lead  to  my  being  presented 
at  court  some  day  ?  " 

Wade  clapped  his  hands,  and  burst  out  laughing 
heartily. 

"Presented  at  court!  Why,  Louise,  you -talk  as  if 
that  were  the  climax  of  a  hardly-struggled  life,  —  the 
grand  finale  !  " 

"  Well,"  said  Louise  demurely,  "  it  would  be  a  pretty 
good  finish^  I  think.  Most  of  all  things,  I  should 
like  to  see  court  life.  I  meant  to  have  lived  in  Wash 
ington  some  time,  if  we  had  been  able  to  stay  in  the 
United  States;  and  now  the  next  best  thing  is  Rio 
de  Janeiro. 

"  Don't  imagine  that  I  mean  to  spend  my  whole  lift 
away  up  the  river  here  on  a  sitio.  After  I  get  rich,  — 
from  my  { rubber-path.'  —  I'm  just  going  to  see  the 
world  with  the  best  of  you. 

"  If  you  were  as  gallant  as  you  ought  to  be,"  Louise 
ran  on,  seeing  us  laugh,  "  you  would  invite  ladies  to  go 
with  you  on  your  yacht-cruises." 

"  We  have  never  dared  venture  to  invite  them ! " 
cried  Kit.  "  We  knew  too  well  that  they  would  refuse." 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  87 

"  You  iiever'll  know  for  certain  till  you  ask ! "  cried 
Louise  merrily.  "  I  don't  see  why  ladies  shouldn't  go 
yacht-sailing  as  well  as  gentlemen.  I  mean  to  have  a 
yacht  of  my  own  one  of  these  days ;  and  I  give  you  all 
an  invitation  to  cruise  with  me  beforehand." 

''We  shall  be  only  too  happy,"  said  Wade. 

il  We  accept  unconditionally ! "  exclaimed  Raed.  "And 
now,  though  it  sounds  rather  tardy,  let  me  invite  you  to 
sail  with  us  for  the  United  States  next  month." 

"  Should  be  delighted,  I  am  sure,"  said  Louise.  "  I'll 
see  about  it.  Were  it  not  for  my  India-rubber  busi 
ness  and  my  map,  I  should  accept  instantly.  But  busi 
ness  before  pleasure,  you  know.  I  don't  just  like  to  go 
out  into  the  world  till  I'm  an  heiress  ;  and  if,  meantime, 
I  can  only  get  dear,  good  Dom  Pedro  to  make  me  a  con- 
dessa  (countess),  I  shall  be  quite  en  regie.  Then  for  my 
yacht,  —  elegant  as  Cleopatra's  galley,  —  and  away  to 
make  the  grand  tour  de  la  monde  !  Listen  !  —  '  Arrived, 
last  night,  the  beautiful  fast-sailing  yacht  of  the  rich 
young  Brazilian  Condessa  Luiza  '  !  Read  that  in  '  The 
New- York  Morning  Herald ' !  Don't  you  think  it  would 
make  a  sensation  ?  Wouldn't  they  send  a  reporter  for 
the  particulars  immediately  ?  " 

"  No  doubt ! "  shouted  Wade.  "  Every  shoddy  family 
in  the  city  would  send  a  footman  to  find  out  what  hotel 
you  were  stopping  at ;  and  it  would  take  an  extra  detail 
of  police  to  keep  the  street  open  for  swells  driving  up 
and  down  before  it.  And,  Louise,  that  is  just  about 
what  that  sort  of  thing  all  amounts  to,  —  a  noise,  and 
afterwards  nothing.  Better  far  engage  with  us  in  a 
noble  attempt  to  found  what  my  friend  Kaedway  here 
calls  the  future  American  college" 


88  ON    THE  AMAZONS. 

"  Yes  ;  and,  after  I  had  helped  found  it,  you  wouldn't 
admit  me  into  it,  because  I  am  a  girl ! "  retorted  Louise. 

That  was  a  stunner;  about  the  hardest  shot  I  ever 
heard  fired  by  a  lady.  It  fairly  knocked  Wade  out  of 
time  ;  and  Capt.  Additon  laughed  such  a  laugh  as  made 
me  anxious  for  his  waistband. 

Baed  came  rushing  prosaically  to  the  rescue,  protest 
ing  that  ladies  should  have  equal  rights  and  privileges 
in  the  "  college  of  the  future."  But  none  the  less  did 
Louise  enjoy  her  victory,  secretly  conscious,  no  doubt, 
that  she  had  demoralized  us.  Malicious  things,  these 
girls  ! 

By  this  time  we  were  half  way  across  the  lake,  which, 
at  this  point,  was  nearly  two  miles  in  width. 

Wade  and  I  relieved  Raed  and  Kit  at  the  oars  ;  and 
the  montaria  soon  neared  the  sandy  shore,  where  a  little 
jetty,  consisting  of  two  sets  of  crotch ed  stakes  driven 
into  the  bottom,  across  which  were  laid  strong  poles 
to  support  a  few  loose  planks,  had  previously  been  made 
to  facilitate  the  loading  of  the  nuts. 

Here  we  landed. 

The  beach  was  sandy  back  for  near  a  hundred  yards  ; 
the  fluctuations  of  the  lake  level,  corresponding  to  those 
of  the  Amazons,  and  hence  varying  greatly  through  the 
year.  This  beach  was  bordered  by  various  tropical 
shrubs,  many  of  which  were  entirely  new,  and  strangers 
to  us.  Back  of  these  rose  the  rank,  virgin  forest,  un 
broken  around  the  whole  lake,  so  far  as  we  could  see,  by 
a  single  habitation.  Louise  at  once  pointed  out  to  us 
the  urucuri-palin  (Attalea  excelsd),  which  here  made  up 
near  half  the  woods,  —  a  graceful,  noble  tre-e,  more  than  a 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  89 

hundred  feet  in  height  on  an  average;  a  true  palm, 
though  its  leaves  are  neither  so  long  nor  so  broad  as 
those  of  the  miriti. 

The  shore  rose  gradually  to  some  low  drift-hills  back 
half  a  mile  from  the  lake.  Along  this  slope  grew  the 
grove  of  which  Capt.  Additon  had  told  us. 

Johnson  and  the  two  Indians  immediately  set  off  to 
the  nearest  of  the  trees  with  their  baskets.  At  this 
season  they  expected  to  find  enough  on  the  ground  with 
out  climbing  for  them.  Going  up  across  the  beach, 
the  rest  of  us  set  off  on  an  excursion  of  an  aimless  sort, 
save  to  see  and  admire  the  rich  and  unending  variety  of 
the  forest.  Urucuri-nuts  lay  thickly  amid  the  fallen 
foliage,  which  here  forms  a  deep  stratum,  and  into  which 
one  sinks  ankle-deep  with  every  step. 

I  cut  one  of  the  nuts  open  with  my  pocket-knife.  The 
u  meat  "  was  plump  and  Grumpy. 

We  all  tasted  it. 

"  Fair,"  Kit  pronounced. 

"  We  should  have  thought  any  thing  like  this  a 
godsend  when  we  were  left  on  Labrador,"  Wade  re 
marked. 

"  Do  better  for  pigs  than  for  humans,"  was  Raed's 
comment. 

"  Countless  thousands  of  tons  of  these  nuts  rot  amid 
the  leaves  here  every  year,"  said  Capt.  Additon.  "  Util 
ized,  there  is  vast  wealth  in  them.  Ah  !  this  river-basin 
is  as  nearly  a  paradise  of  vegetable  products  as  I  can 
imagine.  There  wastes  every  season  here  untold  wealth, 
if  it  could  be  realized  and  made  merchantable.  Palm- 
nuts  enough  go  back  to  the  soil,  every  year,  to  pay  the 


90  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

whole  expense  of  our  unavailing  struggle  for  liberty 
during  the  whole  five  years  of  war.  If  our  impoverished 
people  at  the  South  could  but  reap  this  rich  bounty,  the 
past  might  yet  be  repaired,  and  our  necessary  bankruptcy 
redeemed. 

"  Brazil  was  our  only  hope  at  the  end  of  the  war.  If 
our  people  could  only  have  united  in  this  grand  scheme 
of  emigration  as  cheerfully  and  patiently  as  during  the 
years  of  war,  we  should  have  set  our  hard  fate  at  defi 
ance,  and  risen  superior  to  defeat.  In  this  rich  region 
we  should  have  speedily  become  a  wealthy  and  all-power 
ful  people,  —  a  nation  at  the  head  of  all  lands  !  " 

A  stern,  melancholy  fire  burned  in  the  man's  eye, 
speaking  of  a  purpose  so  single  and  unswerving,  that  I 
could  but  admire  as  sincerely  as  I  deplored  it. 

Wade  waxed  quite  uneasy  as  his  father  pronounced 
this  semi-soliloquy. 

We  all  felt  constrained  and  embarrassed. 

"  I  have  heard  that  these  nuts  are  often  fed  to  pigs," 
Louise  observed  carelessly,  as  if  in  answer  to  Raed's  re 
mark,  and  quite  overlooking  her  father's  gloomy  revery. 
"  Pigs  are  said  to  be  very  fond  of  them." 

l"  Here's  the  champion  place  for  hog-raising,  then ! " 
exclaimed  Kit.  "  Feed  all  on  the  ground.  All  the  raiser 
would  need  do  would  be  to  herd  them.  There's  another 
chance  to  make  a  fortune,  Raed  !  What  say  to  hog- 
raising,  or,  in  ornate  phrase,  poreiculture,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Amazons  ?  " 

"  Don't  doubt  that  there  may  be  money  in  it,"  said 
Raed ;  "  but  I  should  wish  to  leave  it  to  those  who 
would  find  it  a  congenial  pursuit.  Never  much  ad 
mired  hogs  myself." 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  91 

Wade  said  that  he  had  all  along  suspected  that  Raed 
was  of  Hebrew  extraction,  which  naturally  cropped  out 
in  hog-hating. 

Alternately  with  the  urucuri  stood  the  sapucaia  tree 
(whence  comes  the  sapucaia  of  commerce).  From  these 
the  seeds,  or  nuts,  were  falling  constantly,  as  acorns  and 
chestnuts  fall  after  a  sharp  frost  in  autumn  at  home. 
The  decayed  foliage  under  foot  seemed  fairly  packed 
with  them.  Now  and  then  an  empty  pericarp,  or  shell, 
in  which  the  nuts  grow,  and  which  opens  at  the  bottom 
is  they  ripen,  would  come  tumbling  and  bumping 
lown. 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  money  might  be  made  here  by 
collecting  these  nuts  in  large  quantities.  What  enter 
prise  more  easy  of  execution  (now  that  the  Amazons  is 
open  to  navigation)  than  to  ship  a  gang  of  our  negroes 
at  home  —  who  would  not  suffer  from  the  climate  — 
on  a  nut-gathering  voyage  here  ?  A  moment's  calcula 
tion  will  show  that  any  enterprising  young  skipper,  with 
a  stanch  schooner  at  his  command,  might  soon  accu 
mulate  a  fortune. 

Louise  told  us  that  these  empty  shells  of  the  sapucaia- 
nuts  are  called  "  monkey-pots,"  and  that  the  common 
name  for  the  tree  among  the  Indians  is  the  "  monkey- 
pot  tree." 

The  growth  on  this  slope  was  far  less  encumbered  with 
vines  and  parasitic  plants  than  on  the  lower  and  dampei 
ground.  As  we  drew  toward  the  summit  of  the  low  hills, 
the  forest  was  as  open  as  are  our  oak-groves  in  New  Eng 
land.  A  slight  wind  rustled  over;  when  the  sound  of  the 
falling  nuts  resembled  the  first  burst  of  a  summer  shower 


V)^  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

on  dry  leaves  in  a  woodland.  The  urucuri-nuts  and 
the  sapucaia-seeds  pelted  us  like  hailstones  ;  only  far 
more  plentifully  than  hailstones  are  generally  showered. 
And  we  had  come  near  making  the  acquaintance  of  still 
heavier  missiles;  for  there  suddenly  shot  down  between 
Miss  Louise  and  Raed,  who  were  standing  close  together, 
a  projectile  as  large  as  a  small  pumpkin,  which  buried 
itself  in  the  soft  earth  with  an  ominous  thud.  It  had 
come  so  near  as  to  graze  Louise's  arm,  and  startled  us 
all  considerably.  Capt.  Additon,  who  was  a  few  yards 
behind  with  Kit,  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  it;  and  he 
instantly  called  to  us  to  dodge  back. 

"  You  are  under  a  Brazil-nut  tree,"  he  said. 

We  retired  very  hastily  with  fugitive  glances  up  to 
the  tree-tops. 

"  Safe,  here,"  said  Louise,  stopping  beside  a  great  white 
trunk.  "  This  is  a  samauma." 

"  What  for  pity's  sake  was  it  that  fell?"  cried  Kit. 
"  A  dry  knot?" 

Louise  laughed. 

"Looked  like  a  big  cocoanut,"  Raed  observed. 

"  It  was  a  burr,  or  pericarp,  of  the  Brazil-nut  tree," 
said  Capt.  Additon.  "  The  Brazil-nut  tree  (Bertholletia 
excelsa)  differs  from  the  sapucaia  in  that  it  drops  its  fruit 
while  still  enclosed  in  the  burr;  and  the  great  pericarp, 
packed  with  the  heavy  nuts,  is  really  quite  a  ponder 
ous  affair,  especially  when  it  falls  from  the  top  of  the  tree, 
—  a  hundred  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  You  have 
certainly  had  an  escape,  Louise,  —  an  arrow  one.  Indians 
are  sometimes  instantly  killed  by  being  struck  on  the 
head  by  these  burrs." 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  93 

u  We  need  some  of  their  (  helmets/  "  Louise  remarked. 
"  When  they  go  out  nut-gathering,  they  put  on  a  great  cap 
stuffed  with  wild  cotton  to  break  the  force  of  the  blow 
if  they  chance  to  be  struck.  And  the  Indians  say,  too, 
that  monkeys  are  never  seen  under  a  Brazil-nut  tree." 

"  Then  there  is  one  proof  more  that  monkeys  reason 
the  same  as  do  the  Indians  themselves,"  remarked  Eaed. 

Kit  had  stolen  up,  and,  with  an  occasional  wary  upward 
glance,  was  digging  out  the  fallen  burr.  Presently  he 
lifted  it  out  of  the  hole  it  had  made  for  itself,  and 
brought  it  back  where  we  were  standing.  The  rough 
brown  shell  was  very  firm  and  thick ;  and  it  required  re 
peated  blows  from  the  butt  of  the  carbine  which  Capt. 
Additon  had  brought  along  from  the  montaria  to  break 
it  open  ;  and  even  then,  so  closely  packed  were  the  nuts, 
that  they  did  not  readily  cleave  asunder. 

Within  this  single  shell  there  were  no  less  than  two 
quarts  of  the  nuts.  What  a  find  the  boys  of  a  New- 
England  town  would  have  thought  it!  Here  they  fall 
and  rot  unnoticed,  unnumbered  tons  of  them. 

"  I  wish  ( The  Rambler '  was  up  here  in  the  river,"  said 
Kit.  "  What  a  store  of  these  nuts  we  would  lay  in  !  We 
would  give  all  our  friends  at  home  a  bushel  apiece." 

"  Yes,  sir  ! "  cried  Raed  on  a  sudden.  "We  might  col 
lect  a  hundred  tons  of  these  nuts  here  this  season,  as 
easily  as  not,  by  hiring  Indians  to  work  for  us!  We 
could  take  them  along  to  New  York  just  as  well  as  to 
carry  ballast.  At  lowest  wholesale  prices,  they  would 
be  worth  ten  dollars  per  hundred-Weight  there  ;  and  a 
hundred  tons  would  be  worth — let  me  see — why,  fel 
lows,  would  be  worth  twenty  thousand  dollars!  What 
opportunities  to  get  rich  are  lying  loose  all  about  here  !  " 


94  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  observed  Capt.  Additon 
quietly.  "  The  Amazons  is  a  mine  of  wealth.  All  it 
needs  is  opening  up  by  men  of  enterprise  and  energy. 
A  hundred  thousand  men  of  that  kind  might  settle  on 
this  river,  and,  in  twenty  years  even,  become  the  most 
powerful  State  in  the  world.  Wealth  will  buy  armies 
and  navies  ;  and  there  is  no  end  to  the  wealth  that  a 
far-seeing  and  indefatigable  man  of  business  might 
accumulate  here  in  a  quarter  of  a  century." 

From  conversation  of  this  sort  it  was  easy  to  discover 
what  had  been  Capt.  Additoii's  hopes  and  dreams 
when  urging  the  Southern  planters  to  emigrate  en  masse 
to  the  Amazons.  In  neglecting  it,  they  undoubtedly  let 
slip  their  only  chance  of  retrieving  their  defeat,  —  for  the 
best,  no  doubt ;  though,  in  view  of  the  troubled  condition 
of  society  in  the  South,  a  patriot  might  sometimes  almost 
wish  they  had  gone,  bag  and  baggage.  Slavery  they 
could  never  have  perpetuated  beyond  the  present  century; 
and  to  have  had  the  Amazons  the  seat  of  a  great  exporting 
trade  would  have  been  of  vast  benefit  to  the  world.  Thus 
in  the  past  was  Carthage  founded,  and  Borne  itself. 
One  thing  is  certain,  —  that  the  present  Indian  and  Bra 
zilian  population  of  the  Amazons  will  never  develop  its 
resources  :  it  will  be  the  work  of  Northern  men  in  the 
end.  Add  to  this  the  fact,  that  no  country  on  earth 
offers  so  lucrative  rewards  for  capital  and  systematic 
labor.  Even  with  our  own  imperfect  conceptions  of  the 
world's  trade,  we  were  every  day  impressed  more  and 
more  by  the  great  money-making  facilities  which  here 
run  to  waste. 

After  our  little  adventure  with  the  Brazil-nut  burr,  we 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  95 

learned  to  walk  shy  of  the  Bertholletia,  and  pick  it  out 
by  its  trunk  from  among  the  sapucaias  and  urucuris, 
among  which  it  was  mixed  promiscuously  on  this  slope. 
From  the  summit  of  the  low  drift-ridge  we  could  look 
down  a  corresponding  slope  on  the  southern  side  to  where 
a  swamp  with  its  impenetrable  jungles  began.  It  was  a 
grand  thought  to  know  that  for  a  thousand,  nay,  perhaps 
two  or  even  three  thousand,  miles  southward  from  where 
we  stood,  this  same  wilderness  stretched  off  sombre,  rank, 
and  unbroken. 

As  we  stood  here  talking  of  the.  vasty  realm  before  us, 
the  wind,  hushing  its  fitful  gusts  for  a  moment,  caused  a 
lull  in  the  patter  and  rattle  of  falling  nuts ;  and  we  became 
conscious  of  another  sound,  —  a  deep,  rustling,  and 
munching  noise,  which  seemed  at  no  great  distance  ahead  ; 
and,  looking  closely,  I  saw  that  the  whole  surface  of  the 
ground,  or  rather  of  the  dead  leaves,  was  in  a  curious, 
disturbed  state,  as  if  afloat  on  running  water. 

Kit  picked  up  a  "monkey-pot,"  and  threw  it  upon 
this  wriggling  tract.  Instantly  there  bobbed  out  from 
under  the  buttressed  roots  of  a  samauma  a  brown-black 
animal,  looking  for  all  the  world  like  a  rather  gaunt,  big- 
headed  pig  of  about  seventy-five  or  a  hundred  pounds 
weight.  Seeing  us  standing  there,  it  at  once  uttered  a 
sharp  rah-rah!  reh-reh-reh !  followed  by  a  growling 
sound  not  unlike  a  big  dog  when  in  disturbed  possession 
of  a  bone. 

Immediately,  to  our  surprise,  no  less  than  a  dozen 
black  snouts  were  poked  up  from  out  the  dead  leaves  all 
about  where  we  had  heard  the  rustling  noises  5  and, 
catching  sight  of  us,  they  scrambled  out,  and  ran  all 


96  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

together  about  the  one  that  seemed  to  have  been  onsen* 
tinel-duty  at  the  foot  of  the  samauma. 

"  Peccaries  ! "  exclaimed  Capt.  Additon,  —  "a  whole 
herd  of  them  !  Rooting  out  sapucaia-nuts  under  the 
leaves." 

They  were  queer-looking  creatures  as  they  stood  there, 
fifteen  or  twenty  of  them,  with  snouts  held  low,  observing 
us  quite  in  silence  out  of  their  little  red  eyes. 

"  Here's  hog-raising  for  you,  Raed !  "  laughed  Kit. 
"  Why,  pigs  pop  up  here  full-grown  out  of  the  soil ! " 

Wade  had  quietly  whipped  out  a  revolver,  which  he, 
sometimes  carried.  The  distance  was  not  more  than 
thirty  or  forty  yards.  Before  we  had  even  seen  what  he 
was  up  to,  he  fired  so  on  a  sudden,  that  we  started  sharply 
at  the  report. 

"  Oh,  you  shouldn't  have  fired !  "  exclaimed  Capt.  Ad 
diton  hastily. 

This  advice  came  all  too  late.  The  shot  had  been 
very  cleverly  made.  One  of  the  peccaries  had  squealed 
out,  and  was  spinning  round,  making  a  terrible  outcry. 
The  others  whirled  about,  ran  off  a  little  way,  then 
stopped,  grunting  noisily.  The  one  wounded  dropped 
partially  on  its  haunches,  and  began  to  make  a  wheezy 
barking ;  at  which  the  others  ran  up  to  it,  and,  instead 
of  offering  it  succor,  began  to  rend  and  buffet  it,  and 
soon  trampled  it  under  foot. 

"We  had  better  get  away  while  we  can,"  said  Capt. 
Additon.  "  They  are  growing  angry ;  and  there  come 
six  or  eight  more  running  up.  We  have  stumbled  upon 
a  whole  drove  of  them." 

"  You  do  not  mean  to  say  that  we  cannot  beat  them 
off  ?  "  said  Wade  incredulously. 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  97 

"  Indeed  he  does  ! "  cried  Louise,  gathering  her  skirt 
in  one  hand,  and  starting  hastily  back;  while  Myrrha 
scuttled  away  like  a  hare. 

"  Humph  ! "  laughed  Wade,  revolving  the  chamber  of 
his  pistol.  "  I  reckon  we're  good  for  them." 

But  I  noticed  that  numbers  more  were  running  up, 
and  that  they  gathered  closely  together  in  a  defiant  and 
threatening  attitude. 

"  Guess  we  had  best  be  off ! "  muttered  Kit  to  me ;  and, 
being  quite  'unarmed,  we  started  after  Louise,  who  was 
almost  out  of  sight  already  among  the  tree-trunks,  going 
straight  for  the  boat.  Raed  came  close  behind  us.  Capt. 
Additon  and  Wade  lingered  a  little  to  observe  the  pec 
caries,  and  bring  up  the  rear  in  case  they  came  after  us. 

Within  forty  rods,  Kit  and  I  came  up  with  Louise,  who 
had  stopped  to  take  breath,  and  was  leaning  against  a 
tree,  panting. 

a  Oh  !  are  they  chasing  us  ?  "  she  exclaimed. 

Kit  said  laughingly  that  he  guessed  they  wouldn't 
hurt  us  much. 

"  Ah,  but  the  Indians  tell  such  dreadful  stories  of 
them ! "  cried  Louise. 

Raed  came  up,  laughing  as  well ;  but  at  almost  that 
same  instant  we  heard  two  quick  shots,  and  saw  Wade 
and  his  father  running  toward  us,  turning  every  few 
steps,  and  running  backwards. 

"  Run  !  oh,  run,  run  ! "  Wade  shouted  as  he  caught 
sight  of  us. 

And  then  we  did  run  in  earnest. 

Louise  flitted  on  between  the  tree-trunks  like  a  verita 
ble  wood-sprite.  Raed  and  I  could  give  her  little  assist- 

r 


98  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

ance,  and,  indeed,  bad  about  as  mucb  as  we  could  do  to 
keep  up  with  ber.  Kit  bad  picked  up  a  stray  club,  and 
fallen  behind  to  help  fight  it  out  if  necessary.  But 
both  he  and  Wade,  with  Capt.  Additon,  had  soon 
very  nearly  come  up  with  Louise  and  myself.  We  dared 
not  stop  to  look  behind  us  now ;  but  a  mighty  snapping 
and  rustling,  accompanied  by  a  rumbling  of  the 
ground,  and  now  and  then  a  sharp  squeaking,  were  but 
too  plainly  audible. 

I  suppose  that  we  were  all  pretty  badly  frightened :  it 
is  very  demoralizing  to  run  and  be  chased;  and  the  pec 
caries  did  follow  us  wonderfully  close.  From  the  place 
where  Wade  had  first  fired  at  them  to  the  shore  where 
the  montaria  lay  was  more  than  half  a  mile;  and  the 
dead  foliage  made  the  running  unusually  difficult.  But 
not  once  after  our  second  start  did  Louise  pause  till  we 
came  out  on  to  the  sand-beach. 

There  we  were  met  by  Johnson  and  the  two  Indians, 
who  had  heard  the  shots,  and  were  coming  to  the  rescue 
armed  with  paddles  and  poles  ;  but,  when  they  saw  the 
peccaries,  the  Indians  turned  short  round,  and  ran  for 
the  montaria,  where  we,  quite  breathless,  with  Myrrha, 
who  had  far  outstripped  us,  had  taken  refuge. 

Everybody  was  shouting  and  exclaiming;  and,  on 
coining  out  upon  the  beach,  Capt.  Additon  turned,  and 
fired  several  shots  one  after  the  other ;  and  Wade  emp 
tied  the  remaining  chambers  of  his  revolver:  so  that 
altogether  there  was  a  prodigous  uproar,  which  added 
to  the  excitement.  And  in  the  midst  of  it  there 
streamed  out  in  plain  sight  on  the  open  beach  the  whole 
foaming,  squeaking  drove  of  peccaries.  Kit,  Wade,  and 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  99 

the  rest  came  clattering  over  the  jetty,  and  threw  them 
selves  into  the  canoe ;  while  E-aed  and  I  as  hastily  shoved 
off. 

"  Safe  ! "  panted  Louise,  quite  doubled  up  with  fatigue. 

"  Will  they  not  swim  out  after  us  ? "  Kit  anxiously 
demanded. 

"  Nao  tern  medo,  mia  Iranca,"  replied  Palo  ("  Don't  be 
afraid,  my  white ") ;  and  Capt.  Additon  at  once  con 
firmed  the  Indian's  opinion. 

"  The  peccaries  abhor  water  as  greatly  as  a  cat,"  said 
he.  "  They  will  hardly  swim  after  us." 

But,  from  the  savage  manner  in  which  they  poured 
down  to  the  very  water's  edge,  one  might  well  have 
feared  it.  They  drew  up,  however,  and  stood  in  a  com 
pact  body,  so  closely  wedged  together  as  to  appear  only 
a  mass  of  dark,  hirsute  forms,  their  snouts  turned  up 
ward.  There  were  several  hundreds  of  them;  and  their 
gruff  barks  and  continued  growls,  together  with  their 
sharp  squeaks  and  squeals,  made  a  singular,  wild  medley 
of  sound. 

Their  little  fiery  eyes  seemed  fairly  bloodshot  with 
rage ;  and  we  could  see  the  flakes  of  foam  fly  up  from 
their  wicked  little  black  jowls.  The  grating  of  their 
tuskS  was  distinctly  audible  from  where  the  montaria, 
lay,  off  fifty  or  sixty  vards  from  the  shore.  Woe  to  the 
poor  wretch  whom  they  should  succeed  in  surrounding ! 
He  must  speedily  climb  a  tree,  or  be  torn  in  pieces.  They 
would  show  little  mercy. 

Wade  had  taken  no  extra  cartridges:  but  Johnson 
had  brought  powder  and  slugs  for  the  carbine ;  and  he 
now  fired  several  times,  killing  or  wounding  a  peccary 


100  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

with  each  discharge.  One  had  only  to  fire  into  the  herd, 
and  be  sure  of  hitting  some  of  them. 

But  an  equally  effective  weapon  was  Palo's  zar aba- 
tana,  with  its  slender  arrows,  eacli  tipped  with  a  poison 
so  virulent,  that,  on  being  struck  and  wounded  never  so 
slightly,  the  animal  would  soon  fall  in  a  death-agony. 
For  aught  I  know,  this  may  have  been  the  famous  ivou- 
rali  poison.  Altogether  the  noiseless  zarabatana  seemed 
to  me  a  very  ugly  and  lethal  weapon.  I  should  much 
dislike  an  enemy  armed  with  one  of  these  tubes. 

Palo  told  us  that  even  the  jaguar  does  not  dare  to  at 
tack  the  peccaries  when  in  a  herd:  his  only  chance  of 
capturing  one  lies  in  stealing  upon  it  while  rooting 
for  nuts  under  the  leaves. 

We  wished  very  much  to  secure  one  of  the  carcasses 
of  those  we  had  killed,  to  try  its  flavor,  since  the  Indians 
esteem  it  good  eating ;  but  the  hostile  attitude  of  the 
drove  on  the  beach  obliged  us,  from  motives  of  prudence, 
to  keep  off. 

While  we  were  walking  in  the  woods,  Johnson  and 
the  Indians  had  gathered  about  fifteen  bushels  of 
the  urucuri-nuts,  which  quite  filled  the  bottom  of  the 
montaria  at  one  end.  With  these  Capt.  Additon  had 
to  be  content  this  time. 

We  left  the  peccaries  in  full  possession  of  the  grove, 
and  rowed  languidly  back  across  the  lake  ;  for  it  was  now 
about  eleven  o'clock,  A.M.,  and  the  sun  was  getting  to 
ward  the  zenith.  Entering  the  cool  parana,  we  let  the 
montaria  lay  in  one  of  the  deepest  shadows  for  several 
hours, —  till  the  sun  declined,  and  the  breeze  had  risen,  — 
troubled  a  little  by  mosquitoes  and  piums.  Here  we 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.    .  101 

shared  the  lunch,  congratulating  ourselves  at  length  on 
our  escape  from  the  peccaries,  and  complimenting  Louise 
on  her  rapid  paces.  Wade  declared  that  he  had  never 
considered  his  family  "''  fast ;"  but  he  did  believe  that 
Louise  had  a  good  deal  of  natural  speed. 

"  What  think  of  Myrrha,  then  ? "  Louise  rejoined, 
laughing  afresh  as  she  recalled  the  alacrity  with  which 
the  pretty  Meztizo  had  cut  away  at  the  first  alarm. 

We  all  had  to  laugh  at  poor  "  Haidee ; "  though  sev 
eral  of  us  got  our  faces  swished  for  our  temerity. 

"  But  who  couldn't  run  with  feet  so  free  of  shoes  and 
stockings  ?  "  Wade  went  on  aggravatingly. 

At  this  innuendo,  Myrrha  seemed  at  first  very  angry ; 
then  she  subsided  into  a  watchful  mood,  eying  us  as 
kance  from  time  to  time.  And  I  may  state  here,  that 
she  came  out  next  morning  in  hose  and  boots,  —  a  thing 
which  Louise  assured  us  she  had  never  previously  been 
able  to  coax  her  to  do.  Do  not  tell  me  that  boys  and 
girls  should  be  educated  apart,  after  that! 

"  There,  I  am  so  glad  Allie  was  not  there  ! "  Louise 
kept  saying.  "She  never  could  have  run  so  —  as  we 
had  to!" 

All  the  afternoon,  Louise  continued  to  find  matter  for 
thankfulness  in  this  fact.  Fortunate  it  doubtless  was. 

Not  till  after  three  o'clock  did  we  venture  to  row  out 
into  the  river  to  cross  it. 

It  was  nearly  six  when  we  at  length  arrived  at  the 
fazenda,  well  tired  with  our  day's  jaunt. 

It  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  remind  our  readers  that 
there  are  two  varieties  of  the  peccary,  —  the  white-lipped 


102  OK  THE   AMAZONS. 

peccary  (Dicotyles  liabiatus)  and  the  collared  pec<;ary 
(Dicotyles  torquatus).  The  herd  with  which  we  fell  in 
were  of  the  latter  variety,  having  #  faint  band  of  lighter 
colored  bristles  about  the  neck ;  though  in  many  indi 
viduals  this  "  collar  "  was  hardly  distinguishable. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

An  Alarm  in  the  Night.  —  Arming  the  Indians.  —  A  Revolver  in 
Fair  Hands.  —  River-Thieves.  —The  Mandioca-Fields.  —Making 
Farina.  —  Tapioca.  —  Tucupi,  or  Indian  Whiskey. 

rTlHAT  night  we  had  an  alarm. 
_L  A  few  minutes  after  two  in  the  morning,  the  sud 
den  discharge  of  a  musket  wakened  us.  It  was  followed, 
a  second  later,  by  another  report,  startlingly  loud  in  our 
room,  where  all  the  windows  were  at  full  gape.  Three 
or  four  more  discharges  followed  in  quick  succession. 
They  came  from  down  at  the  wharf.  We  leaped  out  of 
our  hammocks,  and  threw  on  pants  and  coat  in  a  jiffy. 

The  whole  house  was  astir ;  and  a  great  shouting  and 
clamor  had  broken  out  over  at  the  quarters. 

As  we  tore  down  stairs,  we  ran  against  Oapt.  Addi- 
toii,  rifle  in  hand,  in  the  hall.  Sanders  stood  at  the  open 
door  with  carbine  at  a  lt  present  arms ;"  would  not  budge 
without  orders :  so  much  for  military  discipline. 

"All's  well  here !"  exclaimed  Capt.  Additon.  "Go 
support  Johnson ! " 

Sanders  disappeared  on  the  instant  through  the  se 
ringas  —  for  the  wharf. 

103 


104  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

A  match  blazed,  and  the  hall-lamp  was  lighted.  The 
next  moment  Capt.  Additon  had  thrown  open  a  long 
heavy  chest  which  I  had  often  observed  in  the  hall. 
The  light  flashed  upon  a  dozen  bright  rifles  neatly  ar 
ranged  on  supports  inside  it;  loaded  too.  We  each  seized 
upon  one  without  orders. 

"  Wade,  you  and  Raedway  with  me  to  the  wharf ! " 
said  Capt.  Additon. 

"  Mr.  Kit  on  guard  upon  the  veranda !  Wash, 
stand  by  the  arms-chest,  and  arm  the  blacks  as  they 
come  up ! " 

He  was  gone  in  a  moment :  indeed,  scarcely  a  min 
ute  had  elapsed  since  the  first  musket-shot. 

Then  came  a  vengeful  blaze  of  light.  A  rocket  had 
gone  up.  I  saw  it  through  the  trees,  turning  over  high 
up  in  the  air.  It  was  followed  by  two  sharp  reports,  and 
then  by  a  third. 

Manoel  and  Wolo,  accompanied  by  Palo  and  two 
others,  came  running  up  from  the  quarters,  and  rushed 
into  the  hall.  It  needed  but  a  nod  from  me  to  have  them 
take  each  a  rifle,  and  fall  into  line  on  the  veranda,  before 
the  door,  where  Kit  was  pacing  back  and  forth,  peering 
anxiously  into  the  gloom  to  wharfward. 

Another  rocket  streamed  far  up,  and  off  over  the 
river.  A  fourth  shot  cracked.  The  rocket's  glare 
showed  the  Indians  standing  martially  like  soldiers. 
They  had  been  drilled  in  this  manreuvre  previously,  as 
I  learned  afterward. 

Glancing  up  the  staircase,  I  saw  Louise  standing  at  the 
landing  above,  quite  quiet  and  observant. 

"  Do  you  know  what  it  is  ?  "  she  asked,  coining  down 
a  step. 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  105 

I  had  very  little  idea. 

We  all  stood  listening,  and  on  our  defence. 

Presently  there  was  a  quick  step  along  the  path 
through  the  seringas. 

"Halt!"  shouted  Kit. 

"  Friend  ! "  replied  Wade's  voice ;  and  he  came  in, 
laughing. 

"  What  was  it  ?  "  we  all  asked  in  a  breath. 

"Oh,  nothing  —  much  !"  said  he.  "Only  somebody 
trying  to  steal  the  montarias  lying  at  the  wharf;  some 
river-thieves.7' 

"I  thought  it  might  be  that,"  said  Louise. 

"  Yes  :  they  came  silently  down  in  a  cuberta,  three 
of  them,  and  would  have  got  both  the  boats  had  they 
not  been  chained  and  locked.  The  noise  they  made 
trying  to  pull  out  the  staples  in  the  stern-post  waked  up 
Johnson." 

"Let  me  run  and  tell  mamma  and  Allie,"  said  Louise. 
"  They  are  all  in  a  tremble  up  in  their  room." 

She  turned,  and  ran  up  the  staircase;  and,  as  she  did 
so,  I  caught  an  ominous  glitter  of  something  she  held  in 
her  right  hand,  partly  concealed  by  the  folds  of  her  skirt. 
It  was  a  silver-handled  revolver.  Kit  saw  it,  and  winked 
to  me.  I  think  that  Wade  got  a  glimpse  of  it  too;  for 
I  saw  him  grin  a  little  foolishly. 

Capt.  Additon  and  Eaed  came  in  a  good  deal  elated 
and  amused ;  and  Louise  rejoined  us  on  the  veranda. 
She  had  put  away  her  pistol. 

"  But  what  were  the  rockets  for  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  thought  best  to  give  them  a  good  frightening," 
said  Capt.  Additon  dryly.  "  So  we  burned  a  couple  of 


106  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

'candles'  to  light  up  the  water,  and  fired  after  them  as 
they  pulled  off." 

"  'Twas  fun  to  see  the  scamps  dig  to  it  to  get  away  ! " 
exclaimed  Eaed.  "  They  did  paddle  lustily,  with  the 
bullets  flying  round  their  ears." 

"Did  they  shoot  hack  ?  "  Kit  asked. 

"  Johnson  says  they  fired  back  after  his  first  shot," 
said  Wade.  "  They  had  got  one  of  the  montarias  loose, 
and  were  working  at  the  staple  of  the  other,  when  he 
heard  them." 

"  I  hope  you  did  not  kill  any  of  the  poor  wretches," 
Louise  said. 

"  No :  I  .don't  think  we  hit  any  of  them,"  said  her 
father.  "  I,  for  one,  did  not  take  very  particular  aim." 

"Nor  I,"  saidKaed. 

"  Nor  I,"  laughed  Wade  ;  "  but  I  think  old  Johnson 
did." 

"  I  should  not  wonder  much  if  he  shot  as  sharply  as 
he  could,"  said  Capt.  Additon,  smiling.  "They  had 
fired  a  bullet  at  him,  which  hit  in  the  casing  of  the  win 
dow  where  he  was  standing.  That  raised  his  temper  a 
little,  probably." 

"  He  did  let  the  bullets  go  after  them  lively ! "  ex 
claimed  Wade.  "  'Twas  worth  the  scare  to  see  him 
shoot." 

The  Indians  under  arms  at  the  door  were  dismissed, 
and  the  rifles  locked  up  again  in  the  chest.  Kaed  gave 
me  a  nudge  as  we  replaced  ours :  they  were  fine  Minie- 
rifles  of  foreign  manufacture,  such  as  not  unfrequently 
found  their  way  into  Charleston  and  Wilmington  through 
the  Federal  blockade  of  1862-64. 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  107 

In  an  hour  we  were  back  in  our  hammocks  again,  ready 
for  a  morning  nap  after  our  adventure  of  the  night. 

I  could  not  but  be  impressed  by  the  military  precision 
and  coolness  shown  by  every  one  connected  with  the 
fazenda.  Never  did  household  behave  better.  The 
promptness  with  which  loaded  rifles  were  in  hand,  and 
ready  to  use,  was  something  remarkable.  A  company  of 
disciplined  troops  could  hardly  have  responded  to  the 
"  long  roll "  in  better  time  and  order  than  did  every 
body  in  the  house  at  the  first  alarm  from  the  wharf.  I 
think  Wade  was  somewhat  proud  of  this  martial  spirit. 
Possibly  he  was  proud  of  Louise's  revolver :  for  my  own 
part,  I  was  astonished  at  it. 

That  morning  we  went  out  with  the  young  ladies  to 
see  the  mandioca-fields  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  clear 
ing.  This  plant,  which  botanists  figure  as  the  Jatropha 
manihot,  is  best  known  to  Northerners  from  its  com 
mercial  derivatives,  —  farina,  cassava,  tapioca.  Under 
cultivation  it  reaches  tobacco  size.  The  farina,  cassava, 
and  tapioca  are  from  its  bulbous  roots. 

Connected  with  the  fields  was  a  large,  long  shed,  palm- 
thatched,  where  the  Indian  women  were  already  at  work 
preparing  farinha. 

Some  idea  of  the  importance  of  this  plant  may  be  ob 
tained  from  the  statement  that  it  furnishes  the  only  flour 
of  the  Amazons  Indians,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  of  the 
Brazilian  residents.  All  their  bread  is  made  from  it. 
Of  the  farina  and  tapioca  of  commerce  I  have  no  need 
to  speak. 

The  roots  are  dug  like  potatoes;  then  peeled,  and 
grated  on  n  very  coarse  grater.  In  this  condition  —  that 


108  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

of  a  coarse  paste  —  it  is  put  into  long,  slender  straw 
bags,  made  of  the  fibres  of  the  jacitara-palm.  When  this 
bag,  which  is  provided  with  a  loop  at  each  end,  is  filled, 
the  women  hang  it  on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  and  pass  a 
lever  through  the  lower  loop,  and  into  a  hole  in  the  tree- 
trunk  below.  They  then  bear  their  weight  on  the  lever, 
and,  thus  squeezing  the  bag,  express  the  juice.  The  resi 
due  of  pulp  is  then  turned  out,  and  dried  in  clay  ovens 
made  for  the  purpose,  and  sometimes  in  the  sun. 

Tapioca  is  made  of  the  same  grated  mandioca-root, 
first  mixing  it  with  water,  and  passing  it  through  a  sieve. 
The  fluid  is  then  set  to  settle,  when  it  leaves  a  deposit 
like  starch.  This,  broken  up,  is  tapioca.  The  Indians 
make  it  into  a  sort  of  porridge,  of  which  they  are  very 
fond. 

From  the  juice  which  is  expressed  from  the  grated 
roots  they  make  a  drink  which  is  called  tucupi.  There 
was  a  gourdful  of  it  in  the  shed ;  and  we  all  tasted  of  it. 

"Not  so  bad  !  "  smacked  Kit. 

"  Eather  more  '  fuddle '  to  it,  Kit,  than  there  was  to  your 
'  sweet  cider '  even,"  Wade  commented,  —  a  reminiscence 
which  made  Baed  laugh  considerably. 

Louise  told  us,  that,  when  first  expressed,  this  juice 
is  poisonous ;  but  that,  after  fermenting,  it  becomes  the 
whiskey  of  the  Amazons. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Fortnightly  Mail-Bag.  —  Letters.  —  What  our  Young  Fellow- 
Citizens  think  of  the  Steamship  College.  —  Can  we  raise  a  Mil 
lion  of  Dollars?  —  Will  Com.  Vanderbilt  give  us  a  Steamer  ?  — 
Prof.  Agassiz.  — "  Oliver  Optic."  —  Will  Uncle  Sam  give  us 
a  Vessel?  —  Hints  from  Mr.  H.  C.  Lewis. — Mr.  Champlin'a 
Opinion. — Miss  Louise  as  our  Missionary  to  the  Land  of  the 
Golden  God. 

r  I  ^HE  Additons  had  a  very  good  library  ;  and,  from 
_L  being  so  much  isolated  from  the  world  of  fashion 
and  pleasure-going,  the  girls  had  made,  and  were  con 
stantly  making,  a  pretty  thorough  use  of  it. 

Though  two  years  younger  than  Wade,  Louise,  save 
in  the  single  respect  of  scientific  books,  had  read  more 
extensively  than  any  one  of  us  young  gentlemen,  as  we 
gradually  found  out,  sometimes  a  little  to  our  mortifica 
tion.  Except  011  religious  topics  (in  connection  with 
Roman-Catholic  bishops),  her  opinions  and  ideas  were 
remarkably  sound.  And  where  is  the  girl  whose  opinions 
are  sound  on  these  exceptions  ?  Young  ladies  are  either 
a  good  way  behind,  or  else  a  good  way  ahead,  of  young 
men  in  this  particular :  it  seems  to  me  it  is  behind. 

That  afternoon  a  steamer  lay  to  off  the  wharf,  and 
landed  the  fortnightly  mail-bag.  By  special  arrangement, 

109 


110  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

Capt.  Additon  had  contracted  to  have  his  mail,  together 
with  that  of  Major  Lowrie  and  others,  forwarded  from 
Para,  by  steamer,  semi-monthly.  Better  than  this  could 
not  be  effected  at  present. 

The  opening  of  this  mail-bag  in  the  library  was  some 
thing  of  an  event  with  us.  Everybody  stood  expectant. 
It  was  stuifed  with  papers,  magazines,  and  letters.  Our 
own  mail,  forwarded  from  "  The  Rambler  "  at  Para,  had 
come,  —  a  whole  packet  of  letters  from  young  gentlemen 
in  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  mainly  relating  to  the 
steamship-college  movement. 

It  was  truly  encouraging,  and  quite  remarkable,  to  read 
how  unanimous  were  all  our  correspondents  in  support 
of  this  idea.  Some  of  the  letters  were  quite  electric  with 
enthusiasm. 

It  is  very  plain  that  the  youth  of  this  country  will 
respond  most  heartily  to  the  proposition.  The  only 
trouble  is  with  the  old  gentlemen,  who  hold  the  purse. 
Our  young  men  are  rarely  rich  enough  to  go  into  heavy 
endowments  like  those  we  need  to  start  the  steamer. 
And  there  we  stick ;  for,  until  we  can  build  or  purchase 
a  steamship,  nothing  can  be  done  but  talk. 

"  One  thing  strikes  me  as  a  hopeful  symptom,"  Wade 
observed,  after  a  long  pause  occupied  with  letter-reading. 
"Our  friends  seem  well  aware  of  the  cost,  and  of  the 
difficulties  to  be  overcome.  Hear  this  from  Theodore 
T.  Waite  of  Albany,  N.Y.  After  going  on  to  count  up 
the  cost  of  steamer,  library,  &c.,  he  says,  'It  would  be 
no  use  to  start  with  less  than  a  million  dollars.  A  great 
deal  depends  on  having  it  first-class  right  through,  with 
the  best  of  instructors,  —  men  of  note  and  experience 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  Ill 

in  the  scientific  and  literary  world.  We  should  ruin  the 
enterprise  by  starting  it  out  in  a  second-class  steamer,  or 
with  meagre  accommodation  and  indifferent  teachers.  It 
is  a  great  idea,  and  must  have  every  thing  about  it  on  a 
grand  scale.  That's  the  way  to  have  it  take,  and  com 
mand  respect  from  the  outset. 

"'How  to  raise  the  necessary  million  is  indeed  a 
problem.  But  let  each  one  of  us  give  one  hundred  dol 
lars,  and  act  as  an  agent  for  the  college  by  getting  his 
friends  to  give  each  an  equal  sum.  As  there  are  now 
over  a  hundred  of  us  in  league  on  the  subject,  I  think  a 
large  portion  of  the  amount  might  be  made  up  by  sub 
scription  among  young  men,  without  troubling  the  "  gov 
ernors  "  at  all.  Of  course  we  should  need  to  organize, 
and  appoint  a  treasurer  and  trustees  to  take  charge  of 
the  funds  as  they  were  raised.  What  think  of  this  way 
of  starting  it  ? '  " 

"It  would  be  quite  impracticable,"  Raed  observed 
meditatively.  "  I  doubt  whether  one-quarter  of  that  sum 
could  be  raised  in  the  way  he  proposes.  Besides,  we  want 
to  'trouble'  the  'governors.'  We  want  the  co-operation 
of  every  parent  in  the  land.  It  is  not  a  mere  boys'  pro 
ject.  It  is  something  in  which  every  educational  man 
in  the  country  ought  to  be  interested  ;  and,  if  he  be  not 
now  interested,  —  vvhy,  we  must  make  him  so.  It  is  the 
business  of  every  man  with  a  family  of  sons  to  seek  out 
the  best  means  of  giving  them  an  education.  This  pro 
posed  college  steamship  offers  the  very  best  means,  if 
supported :  therefore  every  father  in  the  United  States 
ought  to  support  it  to  the  extent  of  his  actual  ability." 

"  Here's   a   plan  of  another   sort,"   interrupted  Kit. 


112  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

"William  L.  Everleth  of  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  writes, 
1  There  is  one  man  who  can  set  the  ball  in  motion  for  us; 
and  I  think  it  not  wholly  improbable  that  he  would  do 
so,  if  once  his  ear  could  be  gained,  and  the  plan  be  cor 
rectly  set  forth.  That  man  is  Com.  Vanderbilt.' " 

"That's  so !"  exclaimed  Wade.  "And  he  gives  to 
colleges  too.  I  read,  not  long  ago,  of  his  making  an  en 
dowment  of  a  half-million.  He  could  give  us  a  steamer, 
and  never  feel  it.  But  I  suppose  he  would  only  laugh  if 
three  or  four  boys  were  to  present  themselves  with  such 
a  petition.  Oh  for  a  dozen  influential  men  of  note  on 
our  side  to  give  weight  to  our  enterprise,  so  that  men 
having  wealth  to  bestow  on  educational  advancement 
would  feel  confidence  in  the  thing ! " 

"Prof.  Agassiz  will  hardly  fail  to  give  his  moral 
support  to  the  endeavor  when  it  comes  before  the  public," 
Kit  conjectured.  "  Though  a  man  of  pure  science  him 
self,  he  is  still  a  very  practical  man  ;  and  no  practical 
educator  will  fail  to  indorse  the  college  steamship." 

"  William  T.  Adams  (<  Oliver  Optic  ')  is  another  man 
who  could  give  us  good  aid,"  Wade  remarked.  "  Surely  the 
great  juvenile  writer  of  America  would  be  a  powerful 
helper  with  his  attractive  pen.  And  he  could  help  the 
enterprise  still  more  directly  if  he  saw  fit.  I  deem  his 
'  Young- America '  series  sufficient  guaranty  that  our 
plan  would  be  justly  estimated  by  Mr.  Adams.  He  seems 
to  have  conjectured  rightly,  that  foreign  travel,  even  by 
the  slower  medium  of  sails,  would  be  desirable  for  young 
men." 

"  Listen  to  this,"  said  Kaed,  who  had  opened  another 
letter.  "James  E.  Montley  of  Cincinnati,  0.,  writes, 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  113 

1  Consider  me  a  student  for  the  proposed  steamship  col 
lege  any  time  during  the  next  three  years.  I  will  readily 
pay  a  thousand  (1,000)  dollars  per  year  for  such  a 
chance  for  a  practical  education  :  otherwise  I  shall  have 
to  go  up  to  Ann  Arbor  (University  of  Michigan),  I  sup 
pose.  Allow  me  to  suggest :  Would  it  not  be  possible 
to  secure  the  patronage  of  the  National  Government? 
I  do  really  think,  that,  by  using  "  influence,"  —  enough 
of  it,  —  one  of  the  government  vessels — a  gunboat,  if 
nothing  better  —  might  be  secured  for  the  "steam  col 
lege."  Possibly  we  might  get  one  of  the  new  steam 
sloops-of-war.  Furthermore,  government  patronage  would 
at  once  set  the  thing  on  a  sure  basis  of  honorable 
respectability. 

"  l  The  plan  has  my  unqualified  approval.  I'm  with 
you  on  every  point.  It  is  just  what  we  want.'  '• 

"  Now,  that's  worth  considering,  —  that  idea  of  getting 
Uncle  Sam  to  give  us  a  boost,"  said  Kit. 

I  thought  so. 

"  But  what  does  he  mean  by  '  influence  '  ?  "  queried 
Wade. 

"  Why,  I  suppose  he  means,  that,  if  we  have  got  dad 
dies  or  uncles  in  Congress  to  speak  the  good  word  for  us, 
government  patronage  would  be  more  easily  obtained ; 
or  rather,  if  we  have  not  that,  it  would  be  mighty  hard 
getting  a  hearing,"  Raed  suggested. 

"  Just  so  :  I  did  not  know  but  that  he  meant  filthy 
lucre" 

"  No  !  —  oh,  no  !     I  guess  not." 

"  Well,  what  think  of  his  proposition  ?  "  Kit  ques 
tioned. 


114  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

"  We  might  hang  about  Washington  five  years,  and 
even  then  be  disappointed  at  last,"  Raed  remarked 
gloomily.  "  Soliciting  government  patronage  is  about 
the  most  tedious  and  discouraging  of  all  occupations. 
Deliver  me  from  it,  it  is  so  slow  and  soul-wearing! 
Petitions  of  this  kind  always  have  to  lie  kicking  about 
the  Capitol-building  about  seven  years,  sometimes  longer, 
before  they  can  get  any  serious  hearing.  My  opinion  is, 
that  we  four  youngsters  might  go  into  business  in  any 
city  of  the  Union,  and  make  the  money  necessary  to  our 
plan,  long  before  we  could  coax  it  out  of  government, 
or  even  get  a  national  vessel  placed  at  our  disposal.  Be 
sides,  I  think  such  an  institution  as  we  contemplate 
would  have  more  scope,  and  better  subserve  the  public 
welfare,  to  be  free  of  government  control  entirely." 

I  had  received  a  letter  from  my  friend  Mr.  Charles 
S.  Etter  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  and  now  interrupted  the  dis 
cussion  to  read  a  paragraph  from  it.  Etter  had  written, 
"  Would  it  not  be  possible  to  get  the  co-operation  of 
some  well-endowed  university  ?  —  Harvard,  say  ;  for  that 
is  a  wealthy  college,  and  liberal  in  its  policy.  It  is  not 
wholly  unlikely  that  a  steamer  might  be  sent  out  experi 
mentally  under  the  auspices  of  that  institution.  Possibly 
they  would  merge  some  portion  of  their  scientific  school 
in  it." 

This  suggestion  did  not  occur  to  my  comrades  as  a 
very  practical  one.  They  doubted  the  policy  of  Harvard 
being  liberal  enough  for  so  marked  an  innovation  on  the 
old  college  system  :  withal  they  were  not  very  well 
pleased  with  the  idea  contained  in  the  suggestion,  but 
tabled  it  for  future  consideration. 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  115 

For  my  own  part,  I  liked  the  idea  very  well,  and  only 
doubted  of  its  being  acceded  to. 

Clarence  Lewis,  a  young  Michigan  journalist,  had 
written  to  Kit,  warmly  commending  the  movement  as 
"the  very  thing  most  needed  by  the  boys  of  America." 

His  letter  contained  a  practical  hint,  to  the  effect  that 
many  of  the  students  might  be  able  to  defray  their  ex 
penses,  in  great  part,  by  acting  as  "  foreign  correspond 
ents  "  for  leading  newspapers  during  the  annual  voyages 
of  the  steamship. 

Raed  made  a  note  of  this  hint. 

Mr.  Lewis's  letter  contained  still  another  hint,  of  so 
practical  a  character  as  to  make  us  laugh,  coming  from 
the  source  it  did.  It  was,  "  Keep  your  plan  out  of  the 
hands  of  newspaper  men  at  present,  till  you  are  sure  it 
will  be  a  success." 

Note  was  made  of  that  too. 

E.  B.  Champlin  of  Westerly,  K.I.,  also  a  journalist, 
had  written  to  Kit,  who  read  a  few  paragraphs.  Cham 
plin  wrote  :  "  The  steamship  -  college  plan  is  siniplv 
grand!  It  is  a  marvel,  that,  with  all  our  educational 
enthusiasts  and  reformers,  we  haven't  been  heels  over 
head  in  the  discussion  of  this  project  for  the  last  ten 
years.  The  subject  of  a  broader  education  is,  however, 
clearly  absorbing  the  attention  of  many  of  our  thinking 
people,  both  old  and  young ;  and,  that  this  plan  will  ere 
long  receive  favorable  consideration  from  all  such,  I  feel 
confident. 

"  The  undertaking  seems  a  gigantic  one ;  but  so,  in  fact, 
has  every  scheme  pointing  to  the  elevation  of  the  race, 
when  first  announced. 


116  ON   THE    AMAZONS. 

"  It  will,  of  course,  find  opposition,  and  that,  too,  from 
unexpected  sources ;  but  all  such  opposition  will,  in  the 
end,  give  way,  and  the  noble  plan  will  be  made  a  suc 
cess.  I  feel  confident  of  it. 

"  Oh  for  a  man  (shall  we  have  to  use  Diogenes'  lan 
tern  to  find  him  ?)  who  will  make  an  endowment  of  a 
hundred  thousand  (100,000)  dollars  to  start  the  thing! 
for,  once  started,  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  of  the  in 
stitution  being  supported." 

While  Kit  was  reading  this,  Louise  came  down 
from  her  room,  where  she  had  retired  to  read  her  own 
letters. 

"  Now  tell  me  all  about  this  future  American  college," 
said  she.  "  You  told  me  something  of  it  yesterday,  — • 
just  enough  to  make  me  curious.  I  want  to  know  all 
about  it.  I  want  to  help  too." 

"  We  shall  need  all  the  help  our  friends  can  give  us," 
said  Kit  rather  disconsolately.  "'We  are  in  the  hands 
of  our  friends,'  as  politicians  say." 

Raed  went  on  comprehensively  to  set  forth  the  entire 
projection  in  a  clear  manner,  the  more  enthusiastically 
that  it  is  a  theme  he  never  tires  of  holding  forth  on. 
The  rest  of  us  listened  resignedly. 

Louise  heard  it  attentively. 

I  expected  to  hear  an  opinion  from  my  ready-witted 
cousin  ;  but  she  sat  long  after  Raed  had  concluded, 
seemingly  absorbed  in  pondering  it,  or  something  else. 

Finally  she  said  that  she  had  hoped  to  find  that  young 
ladies  were  to  share  equally  in  the  college  of  the  future, 
and  that  she  felt  a  little  disappointed  at  being  excluded. 

Raed  was  about  to  explain,  when  Wade  said,  rather 
crossly,  that  we  could  not  promote  every  reform  at  once. 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  117 

"  Wait  till  we  get  fairly  afloat,  and  the  thing  a  success ; 
then  we  will  remember  our  sisters  and  lady  friends." 

"  You  may  need  their  intercession  to  get  your  endow 
ments  to  start  with,"  replied  Louise  quietly.  "  I  had 
some  idea  of  going  up  as  a  missionary  for  you." 

"  Going  up  where  ?  "  said  Kit. 

"  Why,  up  into  that  benighted  land,  the  United 
States,"  replied  Louise,  "  where  the  people  are  given 
over  to  the  worship  of  the  golden  god." 

"  Well,  those  are  the  sort  of  idolaters  we  want  preached 
to  just  now,"  said  Wade. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A  Melancholy  Jaguar.  —  Another  Nocturnal  Alarm.  —  A  Thun 
der-Storm.  —  A  Talk  with  Capt.  Additon.  —  Pioneer  Hardships. 
—  A  Lady  Biographer.  —  "  Half  Calf,  8vo,  Extra  Finish."  — -  A 
Saucy  Joker. 

rT^HAT  evening  we  heard  a  jaguar  —  at  least,  that  was 
_1_  what  they  called  it  —  miawling  in  the  forest,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  plantation.  It  was  a  very  unpleasant 
noise,  and  was  kept  up  at  great  length.  Sometimes,  even, 
it  had  a  plaintive  intonation  that  was  quite  affecting. 
Grip  (the  cream-white  bloodhound)  would  burst  oufc 
howling,  either  in  execration  or  sympathy  with  these 
plaintive  chords. 

It  seemed  curious  to  stand  there  on  the  veranda,  and 
listen,  in  company  of  fair  ladies,  to  this  ferocious  beast, 
prowling  at  so  little  distance.  Kit  professes  to  have 
heard  the  cry  of  the  Northern  panther  (Felis  concolor). 
He  said  there  is  much  similarity  between  the  two  as  to 
sound. 

"But  what  a  piteous  petition  it  is!"  Kaed  exclaimed 
at  length.  "  I  wonder  what  ails  the  brute  !  " 

Wade  thought  the  creature  must  be   meditating  sui 
cide,  or  else  was  lamenting  bad  luck. 
118 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  119 

"  No,"  said  Kit.  "  He  is  probably  serenading  his  lady 
love." 

"  Oh,  too  dolorous  ! "  cried  Louise.  "  Such  a  strain 
would  never  win  her.  Even  a  jaguar  must  have  more 
taste  than  to  whine  in  that  absurd  way." 

"  Can't  say,"  said  Wade.     "  Tastes  differ,  you  know." 

We  went  in,  and  left  the  brute  howling  at  intervals. 

That  night,  about  twelve  o'clock,  there  was  another 
alarm  and  rouse-up.  The  moon  rose  late  ;  and,  just 
after  it  began  to  show  over  the  woods,  Sanders  had 
seen  a  large  animal  sneaking  about  the  clearing.  No 
doubt  it  was  our  melancholy  friend  of  the  previous 
evening.  After  watching  a  while,  the  veteran  had  got 
a  rifle  from  the  arms-chest  in  place  of  his  carbine,  and 
sent  a  bullet  after  the  marauder. 

Sanders  told  us,  with  a  sort  of  grim  glee,  that  the 
shot  was  followed  by  an  agonizing  yelp,  and  that  the 
animal  had  scarcely  been  able  to  drag  itself  away  into 
the  woods. 

The  alarm  was  soon  quieted. 

On  reflection,  I  think  this  creature  full  as  likely  to 
have  been  a  puma  as  a  jaguar. 

At  about  ten  o'clock  next  morning,  there  was  a  very 
violent  thunder-storm.  The  lightning  was  startlingly 
bright  and  frequent,  the  thunder  quite  deafening;  and 
the  shower  was  followed  by  intermittent  dashes  of  rain 
till  afternoon. 

We  were  all  gathered  in  the  library ;  and,  seeing  Capt. 
Additon  not  very  busy,  E/aed  and  Wade  took  the  oppor 
tunity  to  incidentally  call  his  attention  to  the  college- 
steamship  question.  Not  that  we  expected  to  enlist  a 


120  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

man  so  fully  and  necessarily  occupied  with  his  own  affairs 
in  our  scheme  at  present ;  but  we  hoped  to  get  some 
further  hint  on  the  subject  of  rubber-making  and  land- 
grants. 

He  laughed  a  little  when  Raed  hinted  at  our  idea  of 
getting  a  start  out  of  money  made  in  rubber  manu 
facture  ;  then  reflected  a  moment,  and  added,  that  there 
was  really  nothing  impossible  in  the  idea,  though  it  was 
certainly  a  bold  one. 

At  first,  I  feared  he  was  not  exactly  pleased  with  the 
idea  of  our  setting  up  a  large  rubber-making  business 
in  his  immediate  neighborhood,  if,  indeed,  we  should 
succeed  in  starting  one.  I  thought,  perhaps,  that  he 
would  not  like  the  permanent  location  of  three  young 
Northerners  so  near  him,  even  though  in  business  part 
nership  with  Wade. 

But  I  was  mistaken,  I  am  confident.  Capt.  Additon 
was*  far  from  being  a  narrow-minded  man  ;  though,  at 
first,  I  had  regarded  his  emigration  to  the  Amazons  as 
dictated  by  fanaticism  of  the  worst  sort. 

At  dinner  he  resumed  the  subject,  and  asked  whether 
we  could  devise  an  opportunity  for  him  to  assist  us  in 
our  undertaking. 

Wade  at  once  asked  whether  it  would  be  possible  to 
obtain  a  grant  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
opposite  the  fazenda. 

Capt.  Additon  said  that  it  was  unoccupied  either  by 
Indians  or  Brancas.  He  saw  no  reason  why  a  grant  of 
it  could  not  be  obtained  as  well  as  on  the  north  side, 
where  his  own  sitio  was  located.  He  added,  that,  in  his 
opinion,  an  application  made  through  himself,  in  behalf 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  121 

of  his  son  and  three  other  young  men,  would  be  favora 
bly  regarded. 

"  But  I  have  never  been  through  or  even  into  the 
tract  you  refer  to,"  he  continued,  "  save  casually  in 
going  up  the  bayou  to  the  urucuri-nut  lake.  I  have 
noticed  the  seringa-tree  along  the  river-bank ;  but  I 
cannot  assure  you  that  it  is  mixed  in  even  moderate 
percentage  with  the  other  growth  back  from  the  river. 
Only  a  careful  survey  can  tell  you  that." 

"  Then  a  survey  is  clearly  the  next  step  to  take  in  the 
matter,"  Raed  remarked. 

"  I  should  say  so,"  replied  Capt.  Additon. 

"  And  a  fine  job  you  will  find  that  part ! "  cried 
Louise.  "  Father  has  told  me  of  the  jaunt  he  had 
through  the  forest  to  survey  his  grant  of  land  here. 
It  took  him  nearly  a  week.  —  Wasn't  it  a  week,  papa, 
that  you  had  to  sleep  out  in  the  forest,  nights,  with  the 
Indians  ?  " 

"  We  were  five  days  going  over  the  tract  included  in 
my  grant  here,"  replied  her  father. 

"  They  had  to  cut  their  way  with  machetes  at  every 
step  almost,"  continued  Louise  ;  "  and,  for  a  whole  day 
at  a  time,  they  did  not  see  the  sun,  the  great  leaves 
were  so  dense  overhead." 

"  You  have  a  fine  memory  for  such  little  incidents," 
said  her  father  playfully. 

"  Little  !  I  do  not  call  such  hardships  little  !"  cried 
the  admiring  daughter.  "  Oh  !  I'll  take  care  that  your 
biography  does  you  justice." 

At  this  significant  declaration  we  all  opened  our  eyea 
a  little,  and,  most  of  all,  Capt.  Additon. 


122  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

Allicia  and  her  mother  were  smiling  amusedly. 

"  Capt.  Additon  never  dreamed  that  he  was  having 
his  life  and  exploits  written  up  by  his  loving  daugh 
ter,"  said  Aunt  Emma  in  explanation. 

"  Indeed  I  did  not !  "  exclaimed  the  much-admired 
father,  not  very  well  pleased  by  it.  "  I  must  earnestly 
crave  my  dear  biographer's  mercy.  I'm  afraid  Louise 
would  make  but  a  mock-hero  of  me,  —  an  object  for 
everybody  else  to  laugh  at." 

"  We  must  give  Miss  Additon  credit  for  greater  judg 
ment,"  said  Kaed.  "  Were  I  a  fit  subject  for  a  ( life/ 
I  would  not  seek  farther  for  my  biographer." 

"  Thank  you ! "  cried  Louise  merrily.  "  Just  wait  till 
you  get  the  future  American  college  founded,  and  I'll 
write  you  all  up  in  grand  order,  — '  Half  calf  ;  extra  fin 
ish  ;  large  8vo  ;  price  $5.00  ! ?  " 

"  Hold !  "  cried  Wade.  "  What's  that  about  calf  ?  — 
half  calf?  That's  —  that's  liable  to  grave  miscon 
struction,  Louise." 

u  I  see,  I  see  !  "  cried  our  merry  joker.  "  It  would 
be  bringing  mutuals  into  a  damaging  juxtaposition. 
How  would  '  half  sheep '  answer?  " 

"  There,  that  will  do !  "  said  Wade.  "  You've  made 
all  three  of  our  guests  look  sheepish  already." 

"  Can't  help  what's  natural  ! "  exclaimed  the  minx, 
and  instantly  fled,  to  escape  the  consequences  of  this 
last  sally. 

Later,  we  talked  the  subject  of  the  survey  over  at 
considerable  length,  and,  in  order  to  lose  no  time, 
decided  to  start  for  the  southern  shore  early  the  next 
morning. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Off  to  the  Forest.  —  Our  Outfit.  —  Our  Weapons.  —  We  enter  the 
Forest.  —  Cutting  our  Way.  —  Prospecting  for  Seringas.  —  Dim 
Regions.  —  Fireflies  by  Daylight.  —  Our  Camp  on  the  Eiver.  — 
The  Mulatto -Tree.  —  Shooting  Fish.  —  Slinging  the  Ham 
mocks.  —  "0  Tamandua-assu  !  "  —  Miriti-Leaves.  —  A  Steamer. — 
An  Alarm.  —  A  Fight  in  the  Dark.  —  The  Jaguar  and  the  Ant- 
Eater.  —  A  Gory  Spectacle. 

IK  earnest  of  his  offer  to  aid  us  so  far  as  possible,  Capt. 
Additon  placed  the  smaller  of  his  montarias  and 
two  of  the  Indians  at  our  disposal  for  a  week,  —  the 
Mundurucu,  Palo,  and  the  Bolivian,  Manoel. 

I  think  Louise  was  a  little  chagrined  at  our  setting 
off;  and,  for  my  own  part,  I  am  free  to  confess  that 
I  would  much  rather  have  been  excused  from  going. 
But  "  business  is  business." 

We  were  astir  long  before  sunrise,  getting  ready.  The 
two  Indians  brought  a  bag  of  farina  and  a  quantity  of 
roasted  coffee,  for  the  use  of  which  they  had  a  bright  tin 
coffee-pot  made  in  Boston  (even  their  machadinhos  for 
tapping  the  seringas,  as  also  their  machetes,  are  of  New- 
England  manufacture). 

We  had  brought  up  several  sealed  cases  of  pressed 

123 


124:  ON    THE   AMAZONS. 

meat  from  "  The  Rambler,"  and  three  cans  of  condensed 
milk.  Experimentally  we  had  purchased,  nearly  a  year 
previously,  a  few  cans  of  coffee,  prepared,  or  "  condensed," 
as  one  may  say,  in  such  a  manner,  that,  by  putting  a  lump 
of  it  in  a  cup  of  hot  water,  it  would  immediately  dissolve, 
and  be  fit  for  drinking.  At  our  first  trial  of  this  sort 
of  coffee,  we  had  not  been  quite  satisfied  with  it ;  but  we 
had  taken  a  can  of  it  along  with  us  from  the  yacht,  and 
now  added  it  to  our  "  supplies  "  for  this  expedition.  A 
sealed  case  of  butter  proved  an  acceptable  accompani 
ment  to  our  large  tin  box  of  hard-bread. 

To  these  items  add  a  frying-pan  for  fish,  and  a  few 
other  minor  necessaries,  and  our  simple  outfit  stands  com 
plete,  so  far  as  food  goes. 

For  arms  we  had  an  Enfield  rifle  purchased  in  Liver 
pool,  with  cartridges  containing  an  explosive  slug;  in 
fact ,  a  tiny  percussion-bomb,  —  one  of  the  most  deadly 
projectiles  yet  invented.  This  was  Wade's  property. 

Kit  had  a  large  Colt's  revolving  pistol, — one  he  has 
had  for  two  years  and  over.  It  is  a  rather  "  heavy  affair ; " 
but  the  fellow  has  become  quite  an  expert  in  shooting 
wil  h  it,  and  prefers  it  —  at  least,  he  says  so  —  to  "  any 
other  fire-arm,  long  or  short."  He  thinks  it  equal  to  any 
rifle.  It  throws  a  very  large  bullet — above  half  an 
ounce,  I  think — with  very  considerable  force.  I  have 
repeatedly  seen  him  shoot  the  ball  through  a  target 
Composed  of  two  spruce-planks,  each  two  inches  thick, 
iit  a  distance  of  fifty  yards  (nine  rods).  With  six  shots 
of  this  sort  he  declares  that  he  feels  "  tolerably  safe  " 
anywhere,  and  laughs  at  Wade's  Enfield,  —  a  laugh 
which  Wade  casts  back  with  a  quiet  "Humph"  of  de 
rision. 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  125 

As  for  Raed,  he  did  not  trouble  himself  about  "  shoot 
ing-irons."  A  note-book  and  pocket-compass  completed 
his  equipments.  The  writer  contented  himself  with  the 
small  but  effective  pocket-revolver  presented  to  him  by 
the  editor  of  "  The  Youth's  Companion  "  (Boston).  It  is 
a  first-rate  shooter;  so  much  so,  that  Kit,  who  believes  in 
nothing  lighter  than  a  "  Colt's,"  has  been  known  to  say 
(condescendingly  of  course)  that  it  was  "quite  a  little 
pop-gun,  no  mistake." 

Our  arrangements  were  completed  by  sunrise.  Louise 
had  come  down  to  take  a  parting  cup  of  coffee  with  us. 

"  Well,  if  you  will  go,"  said  she,  "  glean  all  the  par 
ticulars  you  can  for  my  map" 

E/aed  assured  her  that  no  geographical  details  should 
be  neglected,  and  begged  her  to  give  his  "good- by" 
to  Allie,  who  had  not  yet  come  down. 

The  Indians,  with  their  machetes,  were  waiting  on 
the  veranda.  Capt.  Additon  went  down  to  the  wharf, 
giving  us  such  hints  as  his  former  experience  had  sug 
gested.  Our  supplies,  together  with  our  hammocks, 
were  loaded  into  the  montaria;  and,  with  respectful  mili 
tary  salutes  to  our  kind  host,  we  pulled  out  into  the 
river. 

We  made  better  time  crossing  the  Amazons  this  morn 
ing,  and  came  under  the  southern  bank  in  an  hour  and 
thirty-five  minutes  from  the  wharf;  but  we  had  to  work 
for  it. 

Arrived  in  the  sluggish  water  near  the  shore,  we  rested 
ten  minutes  ;  then  proceeded  up  the  bank  for  two  miles 
or  more,  and  had  come  near  meeting  with  a  fatal  acci 
dent  at  the  outset.  As  we  were  rowing  up,  keeping 


126  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

close  in  at  a  place  where  the  bank  was  high  and  crowned 
with  large  trees,  there  suddenly  occurred  a  land-slide 
where  the  current  had  worn  under  the  loose  earth.  We 
were  just  abreast  the  place  when  the  mass  started.  The 
Indians  uttered  a  shout  of  alarm,  and  jumped  up  from 
their  oars ;  but  Kit  and  Raed,  who  were  also  paddling,  gave 
a  full,  sharp  stroke,  which  urged  the  montaria  forward : 
none  too  quick ;  for  a  great  palm,  undermined  by  the  slide, 
came  toppling  over,  and  plunged  with  a  sullen  sudge  into 
the  water  hardly  a  yard  astern. 

After  that  we  rowed  shy  of  loose  banks. 

Manoel  told  us  that  boats  have  frequently  been  over 
whelmed  by  these  slides  from  the  constants-caving 
banks.  The  Amazons  is  a  great  devourer  of  its  shores. 

About  a  mile  farther  up  we  came  to  where  a  par  ana 
made  in  between  low  banks  nearly  on  a  level  with  the 
river.  This  inlet,  we  concluded,  might  well  be  made 
the  western  boundary  of  our  sitio,  if  we  were  fortunate 
enough  to  get  a  grant  of  it. 

Beginning  at  this  place,  then,  we  had  before  us  the 
task  of  going  over  a  tract  extending  six  miles  down  the 
Amazons,  and  three  miles  back  from  the  shore,  with 
sufficient  attention  to  ascertain  whether  the  seringa  was 
interspersed  thickly  enough  to  render  the  cutting  of 
estradas  profitable. 

In  a  Northern  forest,  this  enumeration  might  have 
been  made  in  a  couple  of  days  at  most;  but  in  this 
dense,  thicket-like  maze  of  vegetation,  it  was  an  arduous 
undertaking,  —  how  arduous,  I  quite  despair  of  assuring 
the  reader. 

Entering  the  paranu,  which  came  in  from  a  southerly 


ON    THE    AMAZONS.  127 

direction,  we  rowed  up  it  (if  going  southward  can  be 
called  up)  for  nearly  half  a  mile  to  where  it  bowed  to 
the  south-west,  and  an  igarape,  branching  to  the  south 
east,  ran  around  to  the  river  below.  Here  we  landed, 
and  drew  up  the  montaria  into  a  jungle  of  aningas  and 
climbing-vines,  which  concealed  it  so  effectually,  that  we 
had  little  fear  of  any  prowling  Indian  discovering  it. 

After  some  talk,  it  was  decided  that  it  would  be  best 
to  leave  the  provisions  in  the  canoe,  —  save  hard-bread 
enough  for  a  lunch,  and  the  coffee-pot  well  charged  for  a 
mess,  —  and,  after  a  circuit  to  the  south  and  south-east, 
come  back  to  the  boat  by  nightfall. 

The  compass  was  opened,  and  the  bearings  taken  by 
Raed,  who  undertook  the  job  of  carrying  it,  and  keeping 
the  reckoning,  —  a  somewhat  responsible  office:  for  to 
get  lost  in  such  a  wilderness  would  be  a  serious  mis 
hap  ;  since  the  sun  is  rarely  to  be  seen,  even  glimmer- 
ingly,  through  the  dense  tree-tops. 

We  started  due  south ;  Palo  going  ahead  at  first  with 
his  machete,  or  cleaver,  cutting  away  leaves,  and  lopping 
off  cross-branches  and  tangled  vines.  Manoel  followed 
next  after  him,  machete  in  hand,  ready  to  relieve  him  at 
the  labor  of  cutting  the  path  after  a  bout  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes. 

Behind  them  came  Raed  with  the  compass.  The  rest 
of  us  followed  at  our  leisure.  Kit  carried  the  coffee 
pot  ;  while  the  haversack  of  hard-bread  fell  to  the  writer's 
share,  Wade  having  the  rifle. 

That  this  sort  of  thing  was  dull,  hot,  and  monotonous, 
I  have  little  need  to  assure  the  reader.  There  was  really 
nothing  to  be  seen  save  big  leaves  and  tree-trunks.  Of 
these  latter,  Baed  was  counting  the  seringas. 


128  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

Although  nearly  every  step  required  a  machete  stroke 
to  clear  the  way,  we  yet  went  on  at  a  fair  pace.  The 
Indians  were  very  dexterous  in  the  use  of  their  cleavers 
At  intervals,  too,  there  were  open  places  where  the  tree- 
tops  were  so  dense  overhead  as  to  quite  shut  out  the 
light,  and  discourage  vegetation  beneath.  We  seemed  to 
be  wandering  in  vast  gloomy  caverns.  The  air,  too, 
was  damp,  stagnant,  and  loaded  with  dank  odors.  Some 
idea  of  the  dim  gloom  of  these  sub-frondent  tracts  will 
appear  from  the  fact,  that  at  ten  o'clock,  A.M.,  of  a 
bright  day,  we  could  see  the  fire-flies  glinting  all 
around. 

No  living  thing  save  bugs,  fire-flies,  and  mosquitoes, 
was  here  astir.  Far  up  in  the  higher  parts  of  the  tree- 
tops,  toucans  and  parrots  were  quarrelling,  and  flapping 
about.  Occasionally,  too,  invisible  monkeys  could  be 
heard  to  chatter  somewhere  in  the  leafy  realm  above ; 
but  they  kept  out  of  sight.  The  monkeys  here  seem  to 
live  wholly  on  the  trees.  It  is  doubtful  whether  they 
ever  descend  to  the  ground,  unless  by  an  accidental 
tumble. 

On  first  entering  the  forest,  we  had  been  on  the  lookout 
for  snakes,  — amphisbaenas,  moccasons,  boas  ;  but,  during 
that  whole  day,  we  saw  nothing  of  the  serpent-kind. 

After  going  due  south  a  mile  as  nearly  as  we  could 
guess,  the  course  was  changed  to  south-west.  On  this 
tack  we  proceeded  as  near  two  miles  as  we  could  judge, 
counting  up  the  seringas,  and  here  and  there  making 
short  detours  from  the  main  course.  Once  we  cut  a  path 
around  a  square  of  sixty  paces  on  each  side,  and  counted 
the  seringas  within  the  area  thus  enclosed.  There  were 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  129 

twenty  of  them  on  the  hundred  and  forty-four  square 
rods ;  but  this  was  better  than  the  average. 

Halting  at  the  end  of  our  two  miles  south-west,  Wade 
attempted  to  build  a  fire,  and  make  coffee  for  the  Indians, 
who  now  began  to  stand  in  need  of  refreshment ;  but 
every  leaf  and  fallen  branch  was  damp,  —  damp  and  rot 
ten  clean  through.  It  was  quite  in  vain  to  waste  matches. 
We  had  to  eat  a  lunch  of  hard-tack  dry,  and  were 
even  forced  to  stand  up  while  eating ;  for,  unlike  North 
ern  forests,  there  were  here  no  comfortable  old  logs, 
fallen  and  mossy,  inviting  the  wayfarer  to  take  a  seat. 
The  trees  are  so  supported  by  wild  vines  and  the  tops 
of  neighboring  trees,  that  they  rarely  find  space  to  fall ; 
and  so  stand,  after  they  are  dead,  till  they  crumble  down. 
We  could  easity  believe,  that,  in  these  damp  glades,  a  tree 
would  soon  rot  away. 

After  lunch,  the  course  was  changed  due  east  at  an 
acute  angle  to  our  previous  line  of  travel.  In  this  direc 
tion  we  proceeded  another  two  miles,  on  an  estimate; 
then  tacked  to  due  north-west.  Raed's  design  was  to 
thus  describe  the  sides  of  a  triangle,  and  come  round 
into  the  path  made  at  setting  out ;  and  so  accurate  had 
been  his  estimate  of  the  distance  traversed  on  each  of 
the  three  sides,  that  at  three,  P.M.,  we  struck  the  path 
cut  in  the  forenoon  at  a  point  not  a  hundred  yards 
from  the  place  where  we  had  turned  south-west  out  of 
south. 

Once  in  the  path  cut  in  the  morning,  we  were  but  a 
few  minutes  in  going  back  to  the  montaria. 

All  was  as  we  had  left  it,  save  for  the  presence  of 
a  large  and  exceedingly  venomous-looking  centipede 


1-°>0  ON    THE    AMAZONS. 

perched  on  one  of  the  meat-cases.  Kit  "mat-hed"  him 
with  a  stroke  from  one  of  the  paddles.  A  few  fire-ants 
were  reconnoitring  about  the  sugar-flask,  —  skirmishers 
from  an  army  marching  past  at  no  great  distance. 

We  were  sweaty  and  tired  from  our  long  walk ;  but 
the  idea  of  camping  there  on  the  low,  muddy  bank  of 
the  igarape  was  too  repugnant  to  be  seriously  thought 
of. 

Anything  was  preferable  to  spending  the  night  there. 
The  montaria  was  got  into  the  water,  and  poled  back 
into  the  parana,  and  thence  out  into  the  Amazons.  We 
then  let  it  drop  slowly  down  the  shore  till  near  the 
high,  loose  bank  where  the  slide  of  the  morning  had  oc 
curred.  The  palm  still  lay  in  the  water,  its  roots  cling 
ing  to  the  shore. 

"  Lightning  never  strikes  twice  in  the  same  place,  they 
say,"  said  Wade.  "  There  won't  be  likely  to  be  a  second 
slide  here  right  off.  Let's  land,  and  camp  on  the  bank." 

It  offered  an  airy  location.  The  skiff  was  accordingly 
laid  alongside  the  palm-trunk,  and  padlocked  to  one  of 
the  large  roots.  Through  the  loose  earth  we  scrambled 
up  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  —  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  It 
was  the  end  of  a  long  gravelly  ridge,  which  here  met 
the  river  at  right  angles,  In  New  England  we  should 
call  such  a  ridge  a  "  horseback." 

Two  or  three  samaumas,  a  uhandiroba,  and  several 
mulatto-trees,  grew  within  a  few  rods.  The  mulatto- 
trees  were  beginning  to  shed  their  bark.  It  had  cracked 
up  and  down  the  trunks,  and  hung  in  long  red  slabs. 
The  tree  is  one  of  the  curiosities  of  the  region,  shed 
ding  its  bark  every  year  as  a  snake  does  its  skin.  At 


OK  THE   AMAZONS.  131 

first,  the  new  bark  is  of  a  greenish  tint,  but  later  be 
comes  almost  black.  When  drying  and  cleaving  off,  it 
is  reddish. 

Kit  pulled  off  enough  at  a  few  jerks  to  last  our  fire 
through  the  whole  night. 

Haed  and  the  Indians  were  breaking  it  up,  and  kindling 
a  fire.  Wade  and  I  were  getting  up  the  provisions  from 
the  boat,  filling  the  coffee-pot  from  the  river,  &c. 

A  bank  of  dark  clouds  had  risen  in  the  west,  covering 
the  sun  completely ;  and,  the  breeze  freshening,  our  loca 
tion  was  a  very  comfortable  one  :  withal  it  was  a  very 
sightly  one.  Both  up  and  down  the  river  the  view  was 
quite  unbroken.  On  the  farther  shore,  at  some  distance 
below,  we  could  dimly  discern  thefazenda  clearing,  like  a 
tiny  scar  in  the  forest. 

Coffee  was  prepared.  Palo,  meantime,  had  made  por 
ridge  of  tapioca,  which  both  he  and  Manoel  seemed  to 
prefer  to  our  hard-bread  and  meat. 

We  were  a  good  deal  troubled  with  ants  —  prodigiously 
great  ones  —  scampering  about  over  every  thing. 

After  our  meal,  which  served  as  dinner  and  supper 
together,  the  two  Indians  went  down  to  the  montaria 
to  fish. 

For  fishing,  Manoel  used  a  hook  and  line,  which  we 
furnished  him  ;  but  Palo  preferred  his  zarabatana,  hav 
ing  first  fastened  a  small  line  to  the  arrow,  by  means 
of  which  he  could  pull  in  the  fish  after  the  arrow  had 
pierced  them.  The  arrows  used  for  shooting  fish  were 
not  poisoned,  —  a  fact  we  were  glad  to  learn. 

The  Indians  of  the  Amazons  use  both  the  zarabatana 
and  the  bow  for  shooting  fish ;  though  nets  made  of  palm- 
fibre  are  generally  owned  by  the  regular  fishermen. 


132  ON   THE    AMAZONS. 

Where  to  hang  our  hammocks  was  the  question  which 
now  presented  itself.  In  the  woods  of  New  England  we 
should  simply  have  cut  a  bed  of  fir-boughs  ;  but  a  whole 
some  fear  of  centipedes,  vipers,  and  snakes,  here  induces 
every  one  to  keep  clear  of  the  ground. 

Travellers  tell  of  swinging  their  hammocks  in  trees; 
but  we  saw  few  trees  on  the  Amazons  with  branches 
low  enough  to  make  such  a  feat  practicable.  The  plan 
we  had  recourse  to  was  to  plant  two  rows  of  crotched 
stakes  firmly  in  the  ground,  four  stakes  in  each  row, 
setting  the  rows  about  eight  feet  apart.  Upon  these  we 
lay  poles  from  one  to  another  and  across ;  thus  binding 
them  together  with  a  sort  of  frame  resting  in  the 
crotches.  Saplings  of  the  samauma  and  mulatto  tree, 
growing  back  along  the  gravel-ridge,  furnished  the  stakes 
and  poles.  Kit  cut  them  down  with  one  of  the  machetes; 
while  the  rest  of  us  brought  them  along,  and  set  up  the 
frame. 

I  had  gone  to  drag  along  the  last  of  the  poles,  when, 
coming  out  where  Kit  had  been  cutting,  I  saw  him  stand 
ing  with  his  back  to  me,  looking  intently  at  something 
farther  off.  Hearing  me  coming,  he  beckoned  with  his 
hand  over  his  shoulder  without  speaking. 

I  stole  up  behind. 

"  Look  there  !  "  he  whispered. 

An  animal  of  truly  formidable  size  was  standing,  par 
tially  concealed  by  tall  grass,  not  twenty  yards  away.  It 
was  shaggy,  and  was  striped  with  black  on  a  ground  of 
dull  gray  hair.  I  did  not  at  first  make  out  its  long 
snout. 

"  I  wonder  if  that  isn't  an  ant-eater  ? "  Kit  whis 
pered. 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  133 

I  then  perceived  its  snout  and  its  long  bushy  tail,  and 
had  no  doubt  of  it ;  but,  to  make  sure,  I  stole  cautiously 
away,  and,  running  to  the  bank,  called  Palo. 

The  Indian  came  quickly  up,  zarabatana  in  hand,  and 
followed  me  back  to  where  Kit  was  standing.  I  pointed 
to  the  creature,  which  seemed,  indeed,  to  pay  little  atten 
tion  to  us. 

"0  tamandua!  0  tamandua  -  assu  /"  muttered  the 
Mundurucu. 

"  Tamandua-assu  :  well,  that  means  great  ant-eater," 
said  Raed  (both  he  and  Wade  had  come  after  us). 

The  Indian  did  not  offer  to  use  his  zarabatana. 

"  Going  to  shoot  it'?  "  I  asked. 

"  Nao,  nao  !  "  said  Palo.  "  It  does  no  one  any  harm. 
It  will  not  trouble  us." 

After  watching  it  for  some  time,  during  which  it  never 
stirred,  we  went  back  to  sling  our  hammocks. 

Manoel  had  caught  fully  a  dozen  fish ;  and  Palo  had 
shot  three,  —  one  very  large,  weighing  not  less  than  a 
dozen  pounds. 

There  were  at  least  three  different  varieties  of  the  fish. 
I  remember  that  the  Indians  told  us  the  names  in  their 
language ;  but  I  have  forgotten  them.  These  fishes  are 
quite  unlike  those  found  in  our  Northern  rivers.  I 
suppose  that  they  were  all  classified  by  Prof.  Agassiz 
and  his  party  when  they  visited  the  Amazons  for  this 
purpose  in  1865.  But  I  have  never  had  opportunity  to 
look  over  their  collections ;  and  I  now  know  of  no 
printed  work  containing  a  catalogue  of  them. 

The  Indians  rekindled  the  fire  to  broil  the  large  one. 
Palo  also  fried  one  of  the  smaller  ones  in  our  frying- 


134  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

pan,  using  butter  for  fat,  and  rolling  the  fish  in  mandioca- 
flour.  We  found  it  very  palatable.  Kit  thought  the 
flavor  resembled  that  of  the  pickerel. 

The  black  cloud-bank,  rising  steadily,  threatened  rain  ; 
and  Raed  proposed  to  remedy  our  roofless  condition  by 
felling  a  small  miriti-palm,  and  roofing  our  hammock- 
frame  with  the  large  leaves.  Manoel  readily  felled  it 
with  his  machete.  The  leaves,  even  of  this  small  tree, 
were  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  long,  and  nearly  two 
yards  in  width.  We  cut  off  and  dragged  up  to  our  camp 
ing-place  seven  of  these. 

It  was  not  without  considerable  effort  that  these  were 
raised,  and  laid  over  our  hammock-frame.  Once  over  us, 
however,  they  promised  an  effective  shelter.  We  went 
to  bed  beneath  them,  almost  hoping  it  would  rain,  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  hearing  it  patter  on  the  miriti-leaves. 

As  we  lay  there  talking,  and  resting  from  the  fatigue 
of  the  day,  a  steamer  passed  up  the  river  at  no  more 
than  a  hundred  yards  from  the  shore.  We  heard  it  com 
ing  while  yet  a  mile  below,  saw  its  bright  lights  as  it 
ran  slowly  past,  and  heard  the  metallic  sough  of  its 
escape-pipe  till  long  after.  To  us,  encamped  there  in 
the  forest,  the  passage  of  the  boat  was  a  cheerful,  nay, 
an  impressive,  incident.  I  think  we  went  to  sleep  the 
easier  for  it. 

The  Indians  had  built  a  second  fire  on  the  forest-side, 
ten  or  a  dozen  yards  away.  They  said  that  they  never 
kept  watcli  nights  while  camping  out  in  the  woods.  We 
let  it  go  so,  but  should  hardly  have  consented  had  we 
suspected  how  fierce  a  beast  was  lurking  about. 

We  must   have  been  asleep  several  hours  j  for  it  had 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  135 

become  overcast  completely,  and  had  grown  very  dark, 
when  a  loud  noise  awoke  us  all  on  a  sudden.  It  sounded 
like  a  growl,  —  a  very  harsh  and  terrible  one,  —  and  was 
accompanied  by  a  tremendous  fracas,  and  a  sound  of 
grappling,  at  a  little  distance  down  the  ridge  on  the  east 
side. 

We  all  scrambled  up  on  elbow  in  an  instant. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  Kit  demanded  in  an  alarmed  voice. 

Momentarily  I  heard  Wade  cocking  his  rifle,  and  fum 
bled  out  my  own  revolver,  which  was  tangled  in  my  belt. 

"  Look  out  how  you  shoot ! "  exclaimed  B-aed.  "  Hold 
on  a  bit !  Hark  !  " 

We  listened  eagerly. 

Of  all  noises,  that  did  cap  a  climax !  I  never  heard 
such  an  uproar,  —  growls,  grunts,  snufflings,  and  a  fear 
ful  struggling,  all  mixed  up  together. 

"  It's  some  sort  of  a  fight,"  said  Kit.  "  Let  'em  rip, 
so  long  as  they  don't  scratch  us." 

Palo  and  Manoel  were  jabbering  excitedly  together. 
I  couldn't  make  out  scarcely  a  word  they  said :  it  was 
something  about  tamandua-assu. 

Meanwhile  the  fracas  went  on  stunningly.  Wade 
suddenly  let  fty  a  bullet  from  the  rifle.  The  flash  lit  up 
the  place.  There  was  a  moment's  hush ;  then  the  strug 
gle  was  renewed,  but  seemed  to  be  moving  off  a  little. 

"  Palo,  what  is  it  ?  "  cried  Kit, 

The  Mundurucu  jabbered. 

"Nao,  nao  !  in  English,  in  English  ! "  Raed  exclaimed. 

The  Indian  began,  but  in  his  excitement  could  say 
nothing  intelligible,  save  tamandua  and  jaguar. 

"An  ant-eater  and  a  jaguar,"  repeated  Kit. 


ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

Again  we  listened. 

The  sounds  of  struggling  seemed  less  -violent;  but  we 
could  distinctly  hear  the  pantings  and  wheezings  of  the 
combatants.  A  fetid  odor,  too,  was  wafted  even  to  where 
we  lay  under  the  shed  of  palm-leaves.  There  were 
other  queer  sounds,  as  of  a  whip  cut  to  and  fro  in  the 
air. 

''That's  their  tails  swishing  :  "  so  Kit  explained  it. 

"  Well,  so  long  as  they  let  us  alone,  we  will  them," 
said  Raed. 

So  we  lay  and  listened. 

Presently  Wade  struck  a  match. 

"Half-past  two,'7  said  he. 

Ere  long  the  fight  wholly  ceased,  save  for  a  low  gur 
gling  noise  like  strangled  breathings. 

"  Got  at  a  dead-lock,  I  guess,"  said  Kit. 

Not  long  after,  the  sounds  ceased  altogether;  but,  for 
my  own  part,  I  did  not  shut  my  eyes  after  that,  and  was 
very  glad  to  see  it  come  morning. 

As  soon  as  it  was  fairly  light,  we  slid  out  of  our  ham 
mocks,  and,  with  revolvers  cocked,  stole  down  the  slope. 
Nor  had  we  far  to  look:  amid  a  jungle  of  arrow-grass, 
murici-plants,  and  an  in  gas,  which  were  now  beaten 
down  for  rods  around,  lay  a  great  mass  of  fur,  blood 
stained,  but  quite  motionless. 

Very  cautiously  we  drew  near ;  but  Palo  came  past  us, 
and  went  directly  up  to  it.  It  was  a  tamandua,  lying  on 
its  back,  with  a  jaguar  closely  clasped  in  its  long  strong 
arms. 

"  Both  stone-dead  !  "  Kit  exclaimed. 

And  so  they  were  :  slain  mutually. 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  137 

It  required  all  Palo's  strength  to  unlock  the  taman 
dua' s  paws  ;  for  its  long  claws  were  deep  buried  in  the 
jaguar's  sides,  and  had  pierced  between  its  ribs.  Once 
wrenched  away,  the  jaguar  rolled  off.  Both  carcasses 
were  covered  with  blood.  The  tamandua's  throat  and 
lungs  seemed  to  have  been  torn  out  completely  by  the 
teeth  of  the  cat.  I  have  never  seen  a  more  gory  spec 
tacle. 

We  would  gladly  have  saved  the  jaguar's  skin ;  but  it 
was  wofully  slit  and  torn  by  the  tamandua's  long  nails, 
and  soaked  in  blood. 

We  concluded  that  the  claws  of  the  ant-eater,  piercing 
betwixt  the  jaguar's  ribs,  added  to  the  suffocating  grip 
with  which  it  had  held  its  antagonist,  had  given  it  a 
dearly-purchased  victory. 

Both  Palo  and  Manoel  agreed  in  saying  that  the 
tamandua  sometimes  kills  the  jaguar  in  this  way. 

We  left  them  lying  there  where  they  had  fought  out 
their  lives,  and  went  back  to  prepare  breakfast. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Another  Day  in  the  Forest.  —  A  Tornado.  —  An  Evil  Odor.  —Fol 
lowing  a  Bayou.  —  A  Lake.  —  Fishing.  —  In  the  Shade.  —  Great 
Heat.  —  Monkeys.  —  An  Adventure  with  an  Aboma.  —  Shooting 
Alligators.  —  Groves  of  the  Brazil-nut  Tree.  —  Shall  we  send  for 
"  The  Rambler  "  1 


day  we  took  our  course  south-south-east  back 
JL  into  the  forest  three  miles,  on  estimate,  and,  re 
turning  on  a  broad  curve  having  the  general  direction 
of  north-north-west,  reached  our  camp  upon  the  river- 
bank  at  about  three,  P.M. 

That  evening  there  came  up  a  violent  tornado,  accom 
panied  by  lightning  and  rain.  We  had  just  got  com 
fortably  into  our  hammocks  when  the  gust  struck  us. 
In  an  instant  it  set  our  miriti-leaves  flying;  and  to  have 
leaves  thirty  feet  long  by  six  in  breadth  whirling  about 
one's  ears  is  no  joke.  The  ends  of  some  of  them  whisked 
about  in  unpleasant  proximity  to  our  bodies.  But  our 
hammock-staging  stood  fast  ;  and,  though  we  were  well 
drenched  by  the  rain,  we  suffered  no  further  peril. 

After  the  cloud  had  passed,  we  got  up,  and,  after  some 
coaxing,  got  a  fire  started.  We  then  stood  around  it  till 
dry. 

138 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  139 

During  the  night,  a  slight,  and,  at  first,  almost  imper 
ceptible,  odor  of  carrion  began  to  annoy  us.  By  morning 
it  had  got  pretty  loud  (to  quote  from  Kit),  and  quite 
spoiled  our  breakfast.  The  tamandua  and  jaguar  down 
the  slope  were  getting  a  little  mellow  (another  quota 
tion). 

We  packed  our  luggage  into  the  canoe,  and  pulled 
down  the  river  with  averted  noses. 

About  a  mile  lower  we  came  where  another  parana 
made  in.  So  masked  was  the  point  of  embouchure  by 
overhanging  trees,  that  we  had  not  noted  it  when  going 
up ;  and  should  have  passed  it  now  but  for  Manoel,  who 
called  our  attention  to  it.  The  montaria  was  at  once 
turned  into  it;  and  passing  in  under  drooping  vines  and 
broad  leaves,  which  almost  swept  the  water,  we  found 
ourselves  on  a  creek  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  breadth, 
leading  straight  back  into  the  forest. 

Along  this  channel  we  paddled  in  lieu  of  cutting  a 
path,  counting  the  seringas  on  both  banks. 

We  had  gone  about  our  intended  three  miles,  as  we 
reckoned  it,  when  a  lighting-up  of  the  dim  bayou  ahead 
relieved  its  sullen  shadows. 

"  Another  lake,  I  think,"  said  Raed. 

He  was  right  in  his  conjecture.  A  hundred  yards 
farther  on,  the  montaria  emerged  into  a  roomy  flat,  mostly 
occupied  by  water,  but  flecked  with  great  patches  of  grass, 
and  water-plants  of  the  most  vivid  green. 

At  some  seasons  of  the  year,  the  water-level  was  evi 
dently  much  higher  than  we  then  saw  it;  this  lake,  like  all 
others,  connecting  with  the  river,  and  hence  rising  and 
falling  with  it.  All  around  its  shores  stood  the  dead 


140  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

trunks  of  trees  which  the  waters  had  killed.  Uni  *e 
Lake  Castanea,  its  beaches  were  covered  with  some 
thing  much  like  pampas-grass,  mingled  with  arrow-grass 
and  murici-plants.  These  beaches  were  in  some  places 
very  wide,  and  studded  here  and  there  with  sturdy  sa- 
maumas,  which  defied  the  touch  of  the  rising  waters.  We 
judged  the  area  to  be  nearly  or  quite  a  thousand  acres. 

Directly  after  we  had  entered  upon  it  from  the  bayou, 
we  passed  over  a  school  of  fish  spotted  like  our  Northern 
lake-trout,  and  members,  perhaps,  of  that  same  family  of 
fishes.  Palo  shot  thirteen,  one  after  the  other,  with  his 
reed-tube.  The  water  was  not  more  than  three  or  four 
feet  deep,  and  wonderfully  clear  over  a  yellow  gravel 
bottom ;  but,  farther  on,  the  water  grew  deeper,  and  the 
bottom  muddy. 

Rowing  across,  we  landed  on  the  grassy  shore,  and, 
while  our  boatmen  cleaned  their  fish,  lay  under  the  dense 
shadow  of  a  large  tree  a  few  rods  from  the  water. 

The  water-killed  trees  furnished  fire-wood  ;  and  this 
day  we  dined  at  noon,  in  the  shade,  off  boiled  fish,  but 
tered  hard-bread,  and  prepared  coffee  dissolved  in  hot 
water.  For  my  own  part,  I  should  have  much  preferred 
cold  water  to  coffee  that  day ;  but  the  lake-water  was 
insipidly  warm. 

The  day  was  unconscionably  hot.  For  a  long  time  we 
lay  in  the  shade,  too  languid,  and  oppressed  by  the  heat, 
to  stir,  or  hardly  breathe.  A  Northerner  coming  into 
these  sultry  latitudes  for  the  first  time  will  be  apt  to  feel 
pretty  limp  at  mid-day. 

Presently  a  dreamy  chatter  of  monkeys  began  to  be 
heard.  It  got  louder.  Eaed  raised  his  head  for  a  look, 


ON  THE   AMAZONS.  141 

"  They  are  out  in  one  of  those  saraauraas  standing  out 
on  the  shore,"  he  said.  "  Black  monkeys  !  —  a  whole  flock 
of  them.  Can  see  them  swinging  from  bough  to  bough." 

None  of  us  took  the  trouble  to  look.  But  anon  the 
chattering  grew  louder,  and  of  angry  intonation. 

Wade  looked. 

"  They  are  swinging  from  the  lowest  branches,"  said 
he ;  "jumping  back  and  forth.  Something's  plaguing 
them,  I  reckon.  They  sound  mad." 

Having  made  this  observation,  he  collapsed,  and  lay 
fanning  himself  for  some  minutes  with  an  aninga-leaf. 
But  the  jabbering  grew  still  louder,  till  by  and  by  Kit 
jumped  up. 

"  I'll  know  what  they  are  up  to  ! "  said  he. 

The  Indians  were  fast  asleep ;  but  the  rest  of  us  got 
lazily  up,  and  followed  after  Kit. 

It  was  fifteen  or  twenty  rods  out  to  where  the  sa- 
rnauma  stood.  From  one  large  branch,  projecting  out 
over  a  thick  bottom  of  the  tall  grass,  half  a  dozen  mon 
keys  were  hanging  by  their  long  prehensile  tails,  swing 
ing  to  and  fro,  and  scolding  vehemently. 

"  Something  down  there  in  the  grass,"  said  Kaed. 

We  stepped  forward  to  within  a  few  yards.  The  mon 
keys  saw  us  now,  and  ran  chattering  off  up  the  branch 
into  the  dense  foliage  ;  but,  keeping  my  eye  on  the  thicket 
of  grass,  I  could  detect  a  slow  movement  there. 

"  Something  there  sure,"  said  Wade. 

Kit  put  up  his  revolver,  and  let  a  ball  go  into  the  grass. 

Instantly  a  big  serpent-head  and  gleaming  neck  rose 
into  sight  of  us,  and  played  out  its  long  tongue.  Its  eyes 
had  a  vengeful  glitter. 


142  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

"  Hold  on,"  cried  Wade,  "  till  I  can  get  my  rifle  !  " 
But  Kit  would  not  let  so  tempting  a  chance  go  by. 
A  second  shot  cracked  on  the  instant.  The  bullet,  as  we 
afterwards  inferred,  just  grazed  the  serpent's  head,  tear 
ing  up  the  skin  along  its  skull  on  the  top.  I  think  it 
may  have  stunned  the  reptile ;  for  it  threw  itself  com 
pletely  over  in  two  mass}7"  folds,  and  landed  not  a  rod 
from  our  feet.  The  horrible  tales  1  had  heard  of  being 
crushed  and  smothered  by  monstrous  boas  came  into  my 
head  at  one  bounce.  All  four  of  us  jumped  away  with 
great  agility,  and  ran  several  rods  before  even  venturing 
to  glance  backward.  We  then  saw  that  the  snake,  so 
far  from  pursuing,  lay  all  in  a  heap  where  it  had  fallen. 

Palo  and  Manoel  had  heard  the  shot,  and  came  run 
ning  up ;  the  latter  with  one  of  the  boat-paddles.  Seeing 
the  serpent,  he  ran  up  and  belabored  it  fearlessly.  As 
fast  as  the  reptile  would  rear  its  head,  he  would  knock  it 
down,  and  so  finally  pounded  it  to  death. 

We  then  took  it  by  the  tail,  and  stretched  it  out.  It 
was  certainly  fifteen  feet  in  length,  and  may  have  been 
seventeen  feet :  we  did  not  measure  it.  The  largest  part 
of  its  body  would  have  been  as  much  as  one  could  clasp 
around  with  both  hands.  It  had  scaly  plates  on  its  jowls ; 
and  its  color  was  a  muddy  yellow,  with  a  row  of  large 
brown  rings  running  the  whole  length  of  its  back. 

From  previous  descriptions  I  had  read,  I  concluded 
that  this  was  a  boa  Cenchrea,  or  aboma.  These  Indians 
called  it  a  boa  simply. 

On  looking  amid  the  grass,  a  monkey  was  found  dead, 
crushed  into  a  wad,  and  reeking  with  a  mucous  saliva. 
The  old  chap  was  probably  on  the  point  of  swallowing 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  14o 

this  dainty  mouthful  when  Kit's  shot  disturbed  him. 
This,  of  course,  accounted  for  the  fret  we  saw  the  other 
monkeys  in. 

This  was  the  only  snake  of  the  boa  species  we  saw 
while  on  the  Amazons.  I  cannot  believe  that  they  are 
nearly  so  plentiful  as  some  travellers  have  reported. 

Although  but  a  ridiculously  small  day's  survey,  we 
decided  to  camp  here  for  the  night.  The  heat  made  us 
strangely  lazy. 

The  Indians  cut  and  brought  stakes  and  poles  from  the 
woods ;  and  another  hammock-staging  was  set  up  under 
the  samauma  near  our  fire. 

As  it  came  on  evening,  the  alligators,  of  which  we  had 
seen  no  sign  during  the  day,  began  to  swim  about ;  and 
we  saw  them  moving  around  on  the  shore  a  little  way  off. 
But  they  were  not  nearly  so  large  as  those  we  had  read 
of,  and  expected  to  see  here.  I  do  not  think  the  largest 
we  saw  was  over  eleven  or  twelve  feet  long ;  and  as  for 
their  scales,  — those  impregnable  scales,  —  the  alligators 
of  this  lake  did  not  seem  to  be  thus  clad.  As  we  stood 
watching  them,  one  waddled  out  of  the  water,  and 
crawled  up  partially  on  a  log  off  ten  or  twelve  rods. 

"  There's  a  chance  for  a  shot,"  Raed  observed. 

Wade  immediately  fired  with  the  Enfield,  aiming  at 
"  the  biggest  part  of  him,"  as  he  told  us.  The  alligator 
gave  a  sluggish  squirm,  rolled  into  the  water,  and,  after 
splashing  about  a  few  moments,  turned  on  its  back, 
belly  up,  dead  as  a  stone. 

"  You  can't  do  that  again  !  "  said  Kit,  considerably  sur 
prised  at  the  result,  as  also  I  was. 

Wade  loaded,  and  in  a  few  moments  fired  at  another, 


144  ON    THE    AMAZONS. 

fully  fifteen  rods  away.  This  one  made  a  tremendous 
leap  on  being  struck  by  the  slug,  and  lay  snapping  its 
jaws  for  some  time ;  but,  on  going  up  to  it,  we  found 
it  quite  dead. 

Wade  attributed  it  all  to  the  explosive  slug,  which, 
bursting  inside  their  bodies,  gave  them  a  mortal  shock. 
But  Raed  said  he  thought  any  rifle-bullet  would  kill 
them. 

Kit,  however,  was  too  jealous  of  the  reputation  of  his 
revolver  to  take  a  shot  at  one  of  the  reptiles  after  Wade's 
exploits. 

The  cooler  air  of  the  evening  so  enlivened  us,  that  we 
started  the  montaria  out,  and  pulled  along  the  southern 
shore. 

The  growth  on  this  side  was  made  up  mainly  of  the 
urucuri  and  the  Brazil-nut  tree.  We  could  hear  the  great 
pods  dropping  heavily  here  and  there.  For  half  a  mile, 
the  shore  seemed  thickly  set  with  these  trees. 

The  subject  of  nut-gathering  on  a  large  scale  was. 
again  discussed. 

"  I  move,"  said  Kit,  "  that  we  write  to  Capt.  Mazard 
to  take  '  The  Rambler '  up  here.  We  can  have  it  towed 
through  the  Para  River  into  the  Amazons.  The  ex 
pense  of  a  tug  would  not  be  over  a  hundred  dollars.  Once 
in  the  Amazons,  they  could  sail  up,  give  them  time 
enough." 

The  pros  and  cons  of  this  motion  were  considered 
seriously. 

Capt.  Mazard  had  never  been  on  the  Amazons  :  would 
there  not  be  considerable  risk  ? 

Some  risk  there  would  be,  undoubtedly ;  but  nothing 


ON  THE   AMAZONS.  145 

risked,  nothing  gained.  If  we  could  ship  fifty,  or  even 
twenty-five,  tons  of  Brazil-nuts  to  New  York,  they 
would  net  us  a  handsome  profit.  It  would  serve  as 
an  experiment,  too,  whether  the  trade  might  prove  prof 
itable. 

The  secretary  (Wade)  was  instructed  to  write  to 
Capt.  Hazard  to  this  effect,  so  soon  as  the  completion  of 
our  survey  should  give  him  opportunity. 

The  lake  which  we  had  here  discovered  we  named 
"  Boa  Lake,"  from  our  adventure  with  the  aboma. 

10 


CHAPTER  XII. 


An  Ocelot.  —  On  Lake  Castanea.  —  Some  Bare  Bones.  — 
Threading  the  Igarap€s.  —  The  Completion  of  the  Survey.  — 
We  start  to  cross  the  Amazons  at  Dusk.  —  A  Shower.  —  Peril 
ous  Boating.  —  The  Indians  Numb  with  Fright.  —  Some  Wel 
come  Rockets.  —  Thanks  to  Louise,  we  at  length  get  ashore.  — 
Allicia  not  so  Well. 


next  morning,  as  we  were  poling  the  mon- 
JL  taria  along  a  lagoon  which  we  had  discovered 
leading  from  the  lake  off  into  the  forest  to  the  eastward, 
we  passed  under  a  tree  containing  another  family  of  chat 
tering  monkeys,  and  saw,  crouched  on  a  limb,  a  lithe 
and  beautifully-mottled  animal,  much  too  small  for  a 
jaguar,  yet  unmistakably  of  the  cat  kind.  Before  Wade 
could  take  up  the  rifle,  it  ran  up  higher,  and  disappeared 
among  the  leaves.  I  think  it  must  have  been  an  ocelot. 

The  lagoon  turned  out  to  be  a  creek,  connecting  with 
another  lake,  which  we  at  first  took  for  an  unknown  ex 
panse  ;  but,  presently  espying  the  jetty  on  the  southern 
shore,  we  recognized  it:  it  was  none  other  than  Lake 
Castanea. 

As  we  paddled  along,  we  could  see  the  bare  bones  of 
the  peccaries  we  had  killed  on  our  nut-gathering  excur- 

146 


ON  THE   AMAZONS.  147 

sion.  Either  their  brethren  or  the  jaguars  had  picked 
them  clean. 

At  the  eastern  end  of  this  second  lake  we  found  a 
bayou  connecting  with  still  a  third  lake  farther  east. 
There  seemed,  in  fact,  to  be  a  chain  of  these  ponds  back 
from  two  to  four  miles  from  the  river,  connected  with  it 
and  with  each  other  by  scores  of  still,  deep  creeks  mean 
dering  through  the  forest. 

During  this  day  and  the  next  we  were  mainly  occu 
pied  in  threading  these  bayous  and  igarapes,  keeping  an 
attentive  eye  to  the  seringas  on  the  banks,  and  some 
times  landing  to  take  a  look  at  the  trees  back  from  the 
water.  We  found  this  a  more  agreeable  mode  of  sur 
vey  than  cutting  a  path. 

Despite  the  interest  we  felt  in  the  seringa  survey,  we 
were  not  sorry  when  the  ground  had  been  gone  over 
(the  last  part  of  it  rather  imperfectly)  at  the  end  of  the 
fifth  day  after  starting  out  from  the  fazenda.  Vast  and 
luxuriant  as  are  these  Amazonian  forests,  they  are  not 
cheerful ;  to  me,  at  least.  Rank,  profuse,  and  gaudy  as 
are  the  festoons  of  flowers,  they  are  not  wholly  pleasant : 
they  cloy  Northern  eyes.  We  gladly  emerged  from  one 
of  the  dim  igarapes  upon  the  river  at  about  six  o'clock, 
P.M.,  and  turned  the  montaria  homeward. 

We  were  now  about  three  miles  below  Capt.  Additon's 
plantation.  To  reach  it,  a  row  of  eight  miles  was  before 
us,  —  three  up  stream,  and  five  across. 

For  an  hour  we  toiled  up  the  left  or  southern  shore. 

It  was  now  twilight,  with  dark  cloud-masses  in  the 
east.  Palo  said  we  had  better  camp  on  the  bank,  and 
cross  in  the  morning  ;  but  we  were  anxious  to  get  over, 
and  started  the  montaria  for  the  mid-channel. 


148  ON    THE    AMAZONS. 

I  shall  never  forget  that  row  across. 

Before  we  were  even  half  over,  it  came  on  dark  as 
pitch.  Black  clouds  draped  the  whole  sky ;  and  a 
shower  came  rolling  up.  The  wind  blew  ;  and,  aside 
Irom  the  strong  current,  great  waves  rose  all  around 
I  made  no  doubt  that  we  should  be  swamped.  In  the 
darkness,  we  entirely  lost  our  course  ;  and  the  wind  frus 
trated  every  attempt  to  light  a  match  to  look  at  the 
compass.  Several  times  the  waves  broke  over  the  gun 
wales  :  at  one  time  we  shipped  fully  a  pailful. 

To  add  to  our  embarrassment,  the  Indians  got  so 
frightened,  that  they  would  do  nothing  but  cross  them 
selves,  and  mutter  prayers.  We  four  got  to  the  oars,  and 
puljed  as  steadily  as  possible ;  the  wind  shrieking,  and 
driving  the  rain  like  sleet;  the  waves  slopping  in,  and  so 
dark  that  we  could  not  even  see  each  other's  faces.  The 
Indians  were  just  simply  numb.  Had  we  been  inexpe 
rienced  in  handling  a  boat,  we  should  have  been  lost  to 
a  dead  certainty. 

Suddenty,  as  we  hung  there  in  utter  bewilderment,  a 
long  bright  streak  of  flame  streamed  into  the  sky,  and 
seemed  to  arch  out  over  us.  It  was  off  to  the  right,  and 
a  good  way  astern. 

Raed  uttered  an  exclamation. 

"  Lightning  !  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  No,  a  rocket !  "  cried  Wade.     "  From  the  wharf ! " 

"Then  I'm  completely  turned  round!"  exclaimed 
Kit. 

Another  flash  —  this  time  a  blue  one — left  no  doubt 
that  it  was  really  a  signal  from  our  kind  friends,  who 
were,  perhaps,  anxious  about  us. 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  149 

It  seems  that  the  wind  and  shower  had  driven  us  up 
the  river,  in  the  teeth  of  the  current,  long  past  the 
wharf.  We  were,  in  fact,  pulling  in  a  direction  quite 
opposite  to  the  right  one. 

The  rockets  encouraged  us.  Without  venturing  to 
turn  the  boat,  we  faced  around  on  the  thwarts,  and  pulled 
lustily  for  the  land.  In  a  few  minutes  we  caught  the 
glimmer  of  lanterns  on  the  wharf.  As  we  came  under 
the  lee  of  the  shore,  the  wind  struck  us  less  forcefully,  and 
we  were  able  to  pull  up  to  the  landing  in  a  little  better 
order.  There  stood  Oapt.  Additon,  with  Sanders,  John 
son,  and  a  dozen  of  the  blacks,  and  a  girlish  form,  hooded 
and  muffled  in  a  water-proof. 

"  That  you,  Louise  ?  "  exclaimed  Wade. 

"Yes,  indeed!  and  a  fine  fright  you  have  given  us  !  " 
cried  the  sister.  "  We  were  about  going  after  you  in 
the  cuberta" 

"  Why,  how  did  you  know  we  were  coming  across  ?  " 
Kaed  questioned. 

"Louise  was  looking  with  a  glass  just  after  sunset,'' 
said  Capt.  Additon,  struggling  hard  to  hold  an  umbrella 
already  twice  turned  wrong  side  out.  "  She  saw  a  boat 
coming  up  the  southern  shore,  and  thought  it  might  be 
yours." 

"  And  when  I  saw  it  start  to  come  over,  just  at  dusk, 
I  knew  it  was  ! "  interrupted  my  fair  cousin.  "  Then 
that  shower  came  up,  and  you  didn't  come !  I  knew 
you  must  be  in  danger." 

"But  how  came  you  to  be  looking  for  us  with  the 
glass  just  then  ?  "  Wade  asked. 

"  Oh !    it  doesn't  follow,  that,  because  I  was  looking 


150  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

through  the  glass,  I  was  necessarily  looking  for  you  in 
particular,"  said  Louise  ;  but  added,  that  she  had  an  idea 
that  we  should  be  coming  back  that  night. 

"Miss  Additon,  "  cried  Kit,  "you  have  done  us  a 
mighty  good  turn,  as  it  happens !  I  never  was  more 
thankful  for  any  thing  in  my  life  than  when  I  saw  that 
last  blue  rocket  go  up.  I  don't  believe  we  should  have 
got  ashore  at  all  if  it  hadn't  been  for  those  rockets." 

"  I  know  we  should  not,"  said  Raed.  "  We  were  com 
pletely  turned  round,  and  heading  in  the  wrong  direction." 

"  They  wouldn't  believe  it  was  you  that  I  saw,"  said 
Louise  ;  "  but  I  knew  it  was  !  " 

Capt.  Additon  laughed,  and  said  we  had  best  go  up  to 
the  house,  as  we  were  all  more  or  less  drenched. 

To  Louise,  then,  we  had  owed  the  rockets.  I  have 
often  thought  of  it  since.  One  girl  of  the  right  sort  is 
worth  a  dozen  boys  at  such  times.  No  boy  would  have 
had  that  idea,  that  we  should  be  coming,  and  looked  in 
just  the  right  time  to  see  us  put  off  from  the  shore  five 
miles  away. 

We  found  that  Allicia  had  been  quite  ill  during  our 
absence,  but  was  now  somewhat  better. 

I  thought  she  looked  yet  paler  than  when  I  had  last 
seen  her.  I  think  Raed  thought  so  too ;  for  I  saw  a 
pained  look  in  his  face. 

That  this  lovely  girl  should  stay  here,  and  die  of  the 
climate,  seemed  one  of  the  saddest  things  I  had  ever  con 
templated. 

Raed  wa^  very  thoughtful  that  evening;  and  I  think 
it  was  not  without  some  ulterior  design  that  he  quietly 
reminded  Wade  to  write  to  Capt.  Hazard  next  morning. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Onr  Expedition  up  the  Madeira.  —  Manaos.  —  The  Steamboat 
"  Dom  Pedro."  —  Buying  Wood.  —  The  Confluence  of  the  Rio 
Negro  and  the  Solimoens.  —  On  the  Madeira.  —  Rich  Seringa- 
Woods.  —  Paulo.  —  The  Parentintin  Country.  —  A  Sharp  Skir 
mish.  —  The  Cachibos.  —  A  Horrid  Act  of  Cannibalism.  —  We 
return  to  Manaos. 

WITH  the  tract  of  land  embraced  in  our  survey 
on  the  south  shore  of  the  river  we  were  but 
moderately  well  satisfied. 

"  There  are  three  objections  to  it,"  said  Raed  next 
day,  when  Capt.  Additon  had  inquired  how  we  found  it. 

"  First,  the  seringa  is  not  so  thickly  interpersed  amid 
the  other  growth  as  could  be  wished. 

"  Second,  the  section  is  cut  up  to  an  almost  incredible 
extent  by  bayous,  or  igarapes,  which  will  require  a  great 
amount  of  bridging. 

"  Third,  the  land  lies  so  low,  and  the  forest  is  so  damp, 
that  I  fear  whoever  works  it  will  be  seriously  liable  to 
the  fever  of  the  country." 

Capt.  Additon  remarked  that  these  were  each  very 
grave  objections. 

"But  as  to  the  first,"  said  he,  "how  thickly  do  you 

151 


152  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

estimate  the  India-rubber  tree  to  stand  ?  —  to  the  acre, 
say,  how  many  ?  " 

Raed  replied,  that,  as  near  as  we  could  figure  it,  there 
were  not  over  eight  trees  to  the  acre,  on  an  average. 

"  That  would  be  fifty-one  hundred  and  twenty  to  the 
square  mile,"  said  the  captain  reflectively.  "  And,  if 
you  were  to  get  a  grant  of  a  tract  with  a  six-mile 
frontage  on  the  river,  reckoning  a  distance  of  three 
miles  back  from  the  water  would  give  upwards  of  ninety- 
two  thousand  trees  available  for  tapping.  Well,  that 
would  be  trees  enough.  I  have  only  about  twenty-five 
hundred  tapped.  That  number  keeps  my  whole  force 
of  hands  busy." 

Kit  observed,  that  the  only  question  with  him  was, 
whether  we  might  not  be  able  to  do  better  in  some  other 
locality. 

"Undoubtedly  you  might,"  replied  Capt.  Additon. 
"This  is  hardly  the  best  locality  for  the  seringa.  Far 
ther  up  the  river,  and  especially  on  the  Madeira,  I  hear 
that  the  seringa  is  much  more  abundant.  The  Madeira, 
in  fact,  has  become  the  great  rubber-making  district.  I 
have  been  half  inclined  to  make  a  trip  up  there  for  sev 
eral  months.  The  banks  of  the  Madeira  are  higher, 
dryer,  and  the  forests  lighter,  and  less  weighed  with 
vines  and  parasitic  plants,  than  are  those  of  the  Amazons 
proper." 

"  How  far  is  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  Madeira  from 
here?"  Kit  asked. 

"A  little  rising  two  hundred  miles,"  Capt.  Additon 
said.  "  But  one  has  first  to  go  to  Manaos,  at  the  forks 
with  the  Kio  Negro,  unless  a  steamboat  directly  up  the 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  153 

Madeira  can  be  hailed.  If  I  were  going  to  look  out  a 
seringa-farm,  I  should  go  to  Manaos  direct,  and  there 
hire  a  cuberta  and  ascend  the  Madeira  at  ray  leisure." 

E/aed  observed,  and  we  all  concurred,  that,  if  he  had 
such  a  trip  in  view,  we  should  be  very  glad  to  accom 
pany  him,  and  pay  our  proportion  of  the  expense. 

Capt.  Additon  did  not  say  immediately  whether  he 
would  go  or  not. 

At  dinner,  however,  he  announced  that  he  would  be 
ready  to  start  for  the  Madeira  the  following  Monday ; 
that  being  the  day  whereon  the  up  steamer  for  Manaos 
called  with  the  mail. 

The  three  following  days  were  spent  in  a  lazy  way,  — 
resting  from  our  jaunt  to  the  southern  shore,  and  playing 
croquet  and  le  circle  with  the  girls.  What  we  talked 
of,  or  that  Eaed  had  the  symptoms  of  "  falling  in  love," 
may  hardly  interest  the  "  general  reader."  The  subject 
most  talked  of  was  undoubtedly  the  college  steamship  : 
that  was  but  natural. 

Sunday  morning  was  spent  in  the  library,  —  I  hope 
not  irreverently,  —  reading  Mr.  Bret  Harte's  "Luck  of 
Roaring  Camp,"  a  copy  of  which  had  been  forwarded, 
with  other  new  books,  by  our  courteous  publisher,  Mr. 
Osgood.  Louisa  and  Kit  read  aloud  alternately  for  the 
benefit  of  the  rest  of  us.  A  batch  of  new  books  is 
doubly  welcome  coming  to  one  in  a  foreign,  and,  withal, 
isolated  land.  Beside  the  intrinsic  merit  and  interest  of 
the  volumes  themselves,  it  is  a  pleasant  souvenir  of  home 
and  enterprising  friends,  who  have  not  forgotten  us, 
though  long  absent  and  far  away. 

At  eight,   Monday  morning,   we  were  on  board  the 


154  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

wheezy  old  steamer  "  Ibeeuhy,"  driving  slowly  up  the  Am 
azons.  Nothing  worth  record  occurred  during  the 
three  days  of  our  voyage.  The  scenery,  though  rich,  is 
monotonous,  —  always  the  same  broad  river,  the  same 
vivid  green  islets,  and  the  same  vast  tropical  forest  on 
the  shores,  unbroken,  save  at  long  intervals,  by  some  lit 
tle  hut-hamlet  with  its  tiny  squadrons  of  iiiontarias,  and 
here  and  there  a  larger  cuberta. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  night,  Wednesday,  or 
rather  Thursday,  "The  Ibecuhy  "  entered  the  Bio  Negro. 
When  we  woke,  we  were  at  Manaos. 

With  us,  Manaos  would  hardly  be  an  ordinary  fishing- 
hamlet  ;  a  very  dingy  one  to  boot.  To  the  simple  peo 
ple  of  the  Amazons  it  is  a  great  city.  I  say,  of  the  Ama 
zons:  but  rather  incorrectly;  since  the  great  river  is  here 
spoken  of  as  the  Solimoens.  Still  farther  up  it  bears  the 
name  of  the  Maranon. 

After  a  vain  search  for  something  like  a  hotel,  we 
came  back  on  board  "  The  Ibecuhy,"  which  was  to  stop 
here  for  a  number  of  days,  and  took  up  our  quarters  on 
her  for  the  time  being,  —  till  we  could  hire  a  cuberta, 
and  provision  her. 

Meanwhile  Kit,  on  his  goings  to  and  fro,  had  espied  a 
litrle  steamer,  "  The  Dom  Pedro,"  tied  to  a  tree  about 
half  a  mile  above  where  "  The  Ibecuhy  "  was  moored. 
With  an  eye  to  business,  he  had  ascertained  that  it  was 
the  property  of  a  certain  Major  Delanho.  When  this 
was  reported,  Capt.  Additon  remembered  the  name :  he 
had  been  slightly  acquainted  with  the  major  at  Para. 

"If  we  could  get  hold  of  this  little  steamer,"  said  Kit, 
"  we  could  just  bowl  along  at  our  ease." 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  155 

There  was  no  doubting  the  convenience  of  the  plan  : 
the  question  was,  Could  we  get  her  ?  Raed  did  not  think 
it  likely  the  boat  could  be  hired.  He  and  Capt.  Addi- 
ton  set  off,  however,  to  sound  the  major,  who  lived  at  a 
sitio  about  a  mile  out  of  town,  up  the  river. 

In  the  course  of  a  couple  of  hours  they  came  back  quite 
jubilant.  For  the  sum  of  seventy-five  dollars  (Americai 
money)  they  had  secured  not  only  the  boat  for  three 
weeks,  but  the  engineer  with  her ;  who,  by  the  by,  was 
engineer  and  stoker  too.  Two  Indians  who  had  lived 
on  the  Madeira  had  also  been  hired,  for  five  dollars 
apiece,  to  go  with  the  steamer. 

The  rest  of  the  afternoon  was  spent  getting  in  farina, 
beef,  &c.,  for  our  voyage. 

Wood  had  to  be  bought  for  the  furnace.  Instead  of 
selling  wood  by  the  cord,  these  people  sell  it  by  the 
"  piece  ;  "  a  piece  being  nothing  more  nor  less  than  an 
ordinary  stick  of  four-foot  wood.  We  purchased  a  thou 
sand  pieces  —  a  quantity  which  came  near  swamping 
us  (nautically)  —  for  eight  dollars.  As  all  these  pieces 
had  to  be  counted,  and  as  the  owners  made  a  sad  job  of 
counting  when  it  got  above  twenty,  the  transaction  was 
a  somewhat  protracted  and  tedious  one.  They  were 
honest  as  coopers ;  so  were  we :  but  our  shouts  of  laugh 
ter  to  see  them  counting  it  over  and  over  raised  their 
gravest  suspicions  of  us. 

This  done,  nothing  remained  but  to  pour  water  into 
the  rusty  old  boiler,  build  a  fire  under  it,  and  start.  We 
waited  till  morning,  however ;  the  day  being  now  far 
gone. 

Manaos  is  situated,  not  directly  at  the  forks  of  the  two 


156  ON    THE   AMAZONS. 

rivers,  but  several  miles  up  the  Rio  Negro.  The  junc 
tion  of  these  mighty  streams  —  where  we  arrived  in 
"The  Bom  Pedro"  at  seven  next  morning  —  is  one  of 
the  best  sights  on  the  Amazons.  The  Rio  Negro,  as  the 
name  signifies,  is  a  stream  of  black  water,  at  this  place 
not  very  rapid,  but  very  wide  ;  in  fact,  twice  as  wide  as 
the  Amazons  (Solimoens)  itself,  which  here  is  very  deep 
and  strong,  its  waters  of  a  muddy  yellow  hue.  The  riv 
ers  meet  at  nearly  right  angles.  The  blue-black  water 
presses  slowly  out :  the  yellow  torrent  of  the  Solirnoens 
dashes  fiercely  at  it,  and  holds  it  back,  and  being  colder, 
and  hence  heavier,  than  the  black  water,  passes  under 
neath  it,  sometimes  for  miles,  to  emerge  in  yellow  eddies. 
The  Indians  call  the  Solimoens  the  "  living  river,"  and 
the  Negro  the  "  dead  river." 

With  the  aid  of  the  current  and  the  engine  we  tore 
down  the  mid-channel  at  a  great  rate.  When  we  thought 
the  engineer  hadn't  got  in  wood  enough,  either  Kit  or 
Wade  would  cram  the  "  fire-box,"  —  in  locomotive 
phrase.  Somehow  we  got  very  reckless  with  "  The  Dom 
Pedro."  With  our  deck-load  of  wood,  there  was  really 
some  danger  of  "  running  her  under,"  as  Capt.  Additon 
kept  humorously  warning  us. 

It  is  ninety-five  miles  from  Manaos  back  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Madeira.  It  will  be  guessed  that  we  "  kept  our 
pot  boiling  "  pretty  smartly,  when  I  say,  that  at'  three, 
P.M.,  we  had  rounded  the  low,  grassy  spit,  which,  for  a 
long  distance,  divides  the  affluent  from  the  main  stream, 
and  entered  the  former. 

At  the  forks,  the  width  of  the  Madeira  is  about  three 
miles;  but  this  soon  narrows  to  a  mile,  and  even  less,  far- 


ON   THE    A.MAZONS.  157 

ther  up.  The  confluence  of  the  two  rivers  here  is  marked 
by  nothing  like  the  turbulence  of  the  Negro  forks.  It 
is  a  placid  meeting. 

Great  as  is  the  Madeira,  it  seemed  but  a  child  of  a 
river,  on  entering  it  after  a  run  down  the  strong  and 
mighty  Amazons. 

Raed  thoughtfully  remarked,  that  our  estimate  of  any 
thing  was  but  a  comparison  with  something  else.  Any 
where  else  in  the  world,  we  should  esteem  the  Madeira 
a  monarch  of  rivers  :  here  it  impressed  us  first  by  its 
srnallness. 

For  the  first  hour  or  two,  there  were  many  islands  in 
the  channel ;  but  these  gradually  thinned  out  as  we 
steamed  on. 

At  six,  P.M.,  we  moored  the  boat  for  the  night  at  a 
place  where  the  bank  was  high,  and  the  water  under  it 
deep  and  sluggish.  Two  hawsers  were  bent  to  a  couple 
of  mulatto-trees  which  leaned  out  from  the  shore.  We 
did  not  care  to  keep  on  by  night.  We  were  all  pretty 
well  tired  with  our  long  day,  and  needed  a  quiet  snooze 
to  refresh  us. 

But,  fatigued  as  we  had  become,  I  recall  that  we 
remained  sitting  under  the  little  awning  for  a  long  time 
after  supper.  Off  over  the  forests,  on  the  farther  bank  of 
the  river,  hung  a  bright  new  moon  in  all  the  fleecy  soft 
ness  of  these  low  latitudes.  Beneath  it  the  stream  was 
silvered,  and  the  great  palm-leaves  glistened  like  tinsel. 
Yet  the  wilderness  was  profoundly  still.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  fancy  that  these  forests  are  full  of  game :  at  least, 
we  saw  but  little  at  any  time.  There  seemed  to  be  but 
few  alligators  on  the  Madeira.  Now  and  then  a  turtle 


158  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

showed  its  head,  or  was   seen  waddling  on  the   sand 
banks.     Occasionally,  too,  a  chorus  of  frogs  would  pipe 
up  amazingly  for  a  while ;  but  solitude  and  silence  held 
sway  in  the  main. 

Just  as  we  were  turning  in  to  our  little  hutch  of  a 
cabin,  a  montaria,  with  several  Indians,  came  floating 
down  close  in  upon  the  shore.  Catching  sight  of  our 
craft  moored  there,  they  sheered  hastily  off,  and  were 
passing  with  suspicious  glances,  when  one  of  our  Indians 
hailed  them  with  a  cheery  "  Boa  noite  !  " 

And  pleasant  boa  noites  were  called  back  to  us. 

How  unlike  the  Indians  of  the  United  States,  with 
their  sullen  grunts  and  harsh  gutturals  !  Surely  they  are 
of  diverse  origin. 

At  six  next  morning  we  were  under  way  again. 

Thatched  huts  were  here  and  there  to  be  seen  in 
little  clearings  on  both  banks ;  but  even  the  lower  course 
of  the  river  is  but  sparsely  peopled. 

At  one  o'clock  we  were  off  Villa  de  Borba,  —  a  misera 
ble  little  hamlet  of  perhaps  twenty  houses,  which  were 
mainly  palm-huts. 

Later  we  passed  Sapucaya-roca  ("  hen-coop "),  an 
other  similar  hamlet  of  huts,  where  Brancas  (Portuguese) 
and  Indians  work  side  by  side  rubber-making.  Here 
the  seringa  was  seen  in  great  natural  groves  ;  and  here 
the  rubber-making  district  begins  to  skirt  the  stream  on 
both  sides. 

One  of  our  Indians,  named  Paulo,  had  worked  at 
various  points  along  the  river  above  Sapucaya-roca  for 
eleven  years.  He  knew  a  great  many  of  the  rubber- 
makers,  and  pointed  out  to  us  their  locations  as  we  went 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  159 

on.  It  appeared  from  his  account  —  and,  from  the 
number  of  huts  and  "  smokes,"  we  could  hardly  doubt 
it  —  that  the  seringa-forests  were  taken  up  by  squatters 
almost  entirely.  At  only  a  few  places,  and  these  in 
manifestly  bad  locations,  were  there  unclaimed  tracts 
which  might  be  secured. 

We  were  not  a  little  disappointed  with  this  state 
of  things. 

"  But  are  there  no  lands  not  settled,  Paulo  ? "  Raed 
would  ask. 

And  Paulo's  invariable  answer  would  be,  "  Oh,  yes, 
senhor!  —  up  with  the  Parentintins." 

"  But  who  are  the  Parentintins  ?  " 

At  this  question  Paulo's  face  would  grow  very  stern 
and  grave.  He  would  shake  his  head  forebodingly.  The 
Parentintins  were  a  tribe  of  very  bad  Indians ;  shock 
ing  savages ;  eaters  of  man's  flesh,  —  that  is  to  say, 
their  enemies'.  Worst  of  all  misfortunes  would  Paulo 
consider  it  to  fall  into  their  hands. 

"  But  have  they  really  eaten  anybody  ? "  Kit  in 
quired. 

Paulo  could  not  name  any  one  whom  he  knew  to  have 
been  eaten.  Still  he  was  sure  that  such  was  their  diet  — 
on  opportunity. 

Had  Paulo  ever  seen  a  Parentintin  ?  (We  naturally 
felt  interested  in  making  these  inquiries.) 

Nao.  But,  six  years  ago,  a  party  of  them  had  crossed 
from  their  own  side  of  the  river,  and  murdered  several 
rubber-makers  ;  and,  not  long  after,  a  Portuguese  family 
on  the  Rio  Purus  had  been  attacked,  and  their  heads  cut 
off  and  carried  away. 


1GO  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

That  was  certainly  a  little  rough ;  but  who  had  seen 
them  ? 

Another  Portuguese,  whom  they  had  not  caught,  but 
who  was  hidden  under  a  pile  of  mosquito-nets  in  the 
same  house :  so  Paulo  assured  us. 

Capt.  Additon  remarked,  that  this  murder  might 
full  as  likely  have  been  done  by  some  vagabond  Brancas 
for  money  as  by  the  Parentintins. 

"  But  have  these  savages  been  seen  or  heard  of 
since  ?  "  Wade  asked. 

Paulo  had  not  heard  that  they  had.  But  he  warned 
us  to  beware  of  them,  and  repeatedly  declared  that 
nothing  would  tempt  him  to  go  ashore  on  the  Paren- 
tintin  lands. 

We  considered  all  this  talk  the  purest  bosh.  Surely  a 
bugbear  that  had  not  been  seen  in  six  years  might 
very  well  be  counted  out. 

On  the  seventh  morning  after  leaving  Manaos,  we 
passed  the  last  of  the  rubber  "  smokes "  on  the  east 
shore  of  the  river,  and,  for  the  next  hour,  steamed  along 
a  flat,  swampy  country.  Shortly  after,  we  passed  the 
mouth  of  a  large  tributary  river.  Beyond  this  river,  to 
the  southward,  was  the  Parentintin  country:  so  Paulo 
said.  He  gravely  advised  us  to  keep  farther  off  from 
the  bank  than  heretofore,  or,  better  still,  follow  the  west 
shore,  lest,  an  arrow  from  some  concealed  marksman 
should  come  on  board.  In  illustration  of  his  own  sin 
cere  cowardice,  he  kept  to  the  right  side  of  the  engine. 

Twenty  or  twenty-five  miles  beyond  the  mouth  of  the 
tributary  above  mentioned,  we  began  to  skirt  one  of  the 
finest  tracts  of  forest-land  we  had  yet  seen.  The  ground 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  161 

rose  in  swells  from  the  water.  There  were  few  vines  and 
creepers.  We  could  see  far  back  into  the  \roods.  Fully 
one-half  the  trees,  as  we  counted  them,  were  seringas : 
of  the  remainder,  a  large  per  cent  were  urucuris 
mingled  with  the  Brazil-nut  tree.  It  was  a  grand  virgin 
growth.  Regardless  of  Paulo's  advice,  we  stopped  the 
steamer,  save  for  the  donkey-engine  to  keep  her  steady 
in  the  current,  and,  getting  into  the  little  montaria  we 
had  towed  after  us  in  lieu  of  carrying  a  boat,  landed  for 
a  closer  inspection.  Both  Wade  and  Capt.  Additon  had 
rifles,  and  Kit  his  revolver. 

Going  up  from  the  bank,  we  found  the  soil  to  be  a  rich 
loam,  out  of  which  the  seringas  grew  rankly  and  tall, 
their  smooth  bark  quite  free  from  the  dark  mosses  which 
coated  them  on  the  Lower  Amazons. 

"Rubber  can  be  made  here  with  one-half  the  labor 
that  it  takes  at  my  sitio"  said  Capt.  Additon  at  once. 
"  I  am  sure  of  it." 

Raed  was  greatly  elated. 

"  Here's  the  place  for  our  grand  plan !  here's  the 
place  to  roll  up  money  ! "  he  kept  repeating.  "  Land  to 
be  had  for  the  asking  !  " 

We  went  back  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from 
the  river,  and  returned  more  than  satisfied.  It  was  far 
in  advance  of  our  expectations.  As  for  Parentintins,  we 
had  hardly  thought  of  them  after  our  first  five  minutes 
ashore.  The  prospect  of  making  rapid  fortunes  was  far 
too  beguiling. 

Starting  on  again,  "  The  Dom  Pedro"  steamed  past 
mile  after  mile  of  this  valuable  forest ;  the  seringas  stand- 
11 


162  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

ing  rank  on  rank  back  as  far  as  the  eye  could  pierce, 
and,  no  doubt,  for  many  leagues  farther. 

At  sunset  we  anchored  the  boat  some  twenty  yards 
from  the  bank,  and  passed  the  evening  in  a  thorough  dis 
cussion  of  the  rubber-making  plan  connected  with  these 
great  unclaimed  groves  of  the  seringa.  So  interested 
did  we  each  become,  that  it  was  long  past  midnight 
before  any  one  of  us  thought  of  going  to  sleep ;  and,  for 
my  own  part,  I  dreamed  of  nothing  but  rubber  and  grand 
college  steamships  all  the  rest  of  the  night. 

In  the  morning  we  got  up  steam,  and  went  on  again 
for  thirty  miles  or  upwards,  till  Kaed  and  Capt.  Addi- 
ton  both  declared  that  they  had  seen  enough,  and  that 
they  would  not  ask  for  better  groves.  The  rich  woods 
continued  uninterrupted,  except  by  an  occasional  river- 
bottom  when  some  small  tributary  came  in  from  the  east. 

"But  how  do  we  know  that  these  seringas  will  give 
out  milk  freely  like  those  down  on  the  Amazons  ?  "  Kit 
suggested. 

E-aed  thought  there  could  be  little  doubt  of  that. 

Capt.  Additon  said  we  could  easily  find  out  by  tapping. 

"  Well,  let's  try  them,  to  be  certain,"  said  Kit. 

Three  or  four  old  tin  dippers,  a  few  cups,  and  a  piece 
of  putty,  which  Wade  had  discovered  in  a  cuddy  on  the 
boat,  were  mustered;  and,  taking  an  axe  to  tap  with,  we 
again  landed  with  the  montaria,  and  proceeded  to  tap 
several  of  the  trees.  In  order  to  get  a  good  idea  of 
the  quantity  they  would  yield,  we  tapped  one  almost  on 
the  water's  edge,  another  back  fifty  yards,  another  a 
hundred  yards,  and  so  on  ;  the  last  one  being  well-nigh  a 
thousand  meters  from  the  shore,  on  ground  fully  a  hun 
dred  feet  above  the  water. 


ON  THE   AMAZONS.  163 

As  we  were  coming  back,  Wade  espied  a  large  animal 
of  a  dark-brown  color,  with  a  long  snout,  which  I  have 
now  no  doubt  was  a  veritable  tapir.  It  was  at  a  consider 
able  distance,  and  partially  hidden  by  the  intervening 
stumps.  Kit  fired  at  it  from  where  we  stood  with  his 
revolver;  at  which  it  immediately  ran  off  at  speed,  mak 
ing  a  heavy  trampling.  I  judged  it  to  have  been  as  large 
as  the  white  bears  we  saw  in  Hudson  Straits. 

The  tapping  done,  we  went  back  on  board  to  have 
dinner,  and  wait  for  the  milk  to  flow  ;  and,  though  this 
may  seem  but  a  trivial  incident  to  the  reader,  we  yet 
awaited  the  result  with  no  little  anxiety  :  the  success  of 
our  scheme  depended  much  upon  this  test. 

In  order  to  give  the  trees  a  fair  chance  to  "  run,"  we 
waited  till  two,  P.M.  ;  then,  taking  a  tin  bucket  to  collect 
the  sap  in,  went  ashore.  Kit  and  I  volunteered  to  go  to 
the  farther  tree  to  save  all  five  making  so  long  a  tramp. 
I  recollect  that  Kit  drummed  on  the  bucket,  as  we  went 
on,  a  regular  rat-a-tat-tat,  to  which  we  kept  step.  Com 
ing  to  the  farther  tree,  we  found  the  dipper  running  over 
with  the  white  juice.  Breaking  it  clear  of  the  putty,  I 
was  emptying  it  into  the  bucket,  when  Kit,  who  stood 
looking  about,  quietly  touched  my  shoulder.  I  glanced 
around. 

"  Wash,"  he  whispered  hurriedly,  "just  look  out 
there !"  with  a  half-gesture  of  his  hand. 

My  eye  followed  it. 

A  hundred  yards  or  thereabouts  from  where  we  stood, 
I  saw  a  man's  head  looking  stealthily  out  from  behind  a 
seringa-trunk,  —  a  dark,  wild-looking  face  with  a  mat  of 
long  hair. 


164  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

An  involuntary  exclamation  escaped  me. 

"  Keep  cool !  "  Kit  muttered.  "  It's  a  Parentintin ! 
Don't  let  him  know  we  see  him  !  " 

I  looked  covertly  around,  and  detected  another  form, 
in  a  dingy  white  garment,  stealing  from  one  tree-trunk 
to  another  off  a  dozen  or  fifteen  rods  to  the  left. 

"There  are  two  of  them!"  I  exclaimed  under  my 
breath. 

"  Two ! "  muttered  Kit :  "  there  are  more  than  twenty  ! 
Drop  that  pail !  Out  with  your  revolver,  and  leg  it  for 
the  boat ! " 

We  both  sprang  away,  and  ran  for  life. 

Before  we  had  taken  ten  leaps,  a  strangely  shrill  cry 
was  raised,  seeming  all  around  us  ;  and  a  flight  of  arrows 
came  hurtling  past.  I  remember  seeing  one  strike  into 
a  urucuri-tree  a  yard  ahead,  and  quiver  where  it  stuck. 

My  God,  how  we  did  leg  it  then  ! 

I  had  a  glimpse  of  one  of  them  running  off  to  the 
right  of  us,  almost  abreast,  trying  to  head  us  off.  Kit 
saw  him  too,  and  fired  at  him.  Still  running  headlong, 
I  put  up  my  own  revolver  to  shoot  at  him  ;  when,  my  foot 
breaking  through  into  a  hole  where  some  rascally  pec 
cary  had  rooted  under  the  leaves,  I  stumbled,  and  went 
heels  over  head,  but  leaped  to  my  feet,  and  ran  on  instant 
ly.  Kit  had  fired  again  while  I  was  tumbling ;  or  else 
it  was  my  own  pistol  went  off:  I  hardly  know  which. 
Several  more  arrows  came  past  us ;  and  we  heard  the 
wretches  screeching  again. 

There,  on  a  sudden,  Capt.  Additon,  with  Eaed  and 
Wade,  was  right  before  us,  running  to  meet  us.  I  saw 
Wade  aim  with  the  Enfield,  and  heard  three  shots  crack 


ON   THE  AMAZONS.  165 

almost  at  the  same  moment.  Kit  and .  I  both  turned  at 
this.  There  was  considerable  powder-smoke  ;  but  I  saw 
indistinctly  more  than  a  dozen  figures  in  white  mantles 
dodging  about  off  among  the  trees,  and  blazed  away  at 
them  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  Then  they  shrieked  (I 
can  think  of  no  better  word  for  it)  again,  and  let  more 
arrows  fly. 

"  We  had  better  get  back  to  the  boat,"  Capt.  Additon 
said  quite  coolly. 

It  was.  perhaps,  twenty  rods  to  the  water.  We  were 
leaping  into  the  montaria,  in  less  than  a  minute  later. 
Wade  and  Kit  turned  to  fire  :  the  rest  of  us  caught  up 
the  paddles,  and  shoved  off.  The  steamer  was  not  over 
a  hundred  feet  from  the  bank.  We  pushed  and  paddled 
the  canoe  round  her  stern  to  the  lee-side,  and  got  aboard 
without  loss  of  time. 

Whether  we  had  really  hit  any  of  the  scamps  or  not, 
I  am  quite  unable  to  say.  E-aed  thinks  he  saw  one  of 
them  fall  while  we  were  firing  together ;  but  that  may 
have  been  a  part  of  their  tactics. 

They  did  not  show  themselves  on  the  bank,  but  lurked, 
out  of  sight,  among  the  foliage,  and  shot  an  occasional 
arrow,  some  of  which  came  aboard  with  very  considera 
ble  force.  These  shafts  were  nearly  a  yard  in  length, 
of  bamboo,  with  the  points  rown  and  hardened,  —  by 
fire-heat,  we  thought. 

While  we  were  running  at  our  first  alarm  out  in  the 
woods,  one  of  these  arrows  had  hit  Kit's  boot  (ridiculous 
ly  like  the  arrow  of  Paris),  and,  tearing  through  the 
leather,  slightly  scratched  his  ankle.  We  were  in  great 
fear  for  some  hours,  lest  the  arrow  had  been  a  poisoned 
one  ;  but  no  evil  result  came  of  it. 


166  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

Our  engineer  and  the  Indians  had  been  frightened 
half  out  of  their  wits.  Paulo,  indeed,  was  nowhere  to 
be  seen.  We  began  to  think  that  some  stray  arrow  had 
hit  him,  and  that  he  had  fallen  into  the  river.  Presently, 
however,  his  scared  face  and  wet  hair  were  poked  up  over 
the  rail.  On  hearing  the  firing,  and  the  shriekings  of 
the  Parentintins,  this  valiant  son  of  the  forest  had  let 
himself  down  on  the  off-side  of  the  steamer  into  the 
water,  and  there  hung  on  by  one  of  the  paddle-wheel 
floats.  I  will  do  him  the  justice  to  add,  that  he  did  look 
a  little  sheepish  as  he  got  back  over  the  rail. 

"You  black  dog  1 "  exclaimed  Wade.  "I've  a  great 
mind  to  pitch  you  overboard  in  good  earnest!" 

There  was  not  much  difficulty  in  dodging  their 
arrows  at  this  distance. 

We  would  not  seem  to  be  driven  off  by  them,  and  till 
near  sunset  lay  there,  with  our  guns  and  pistols  rested  on 
the  rail,  waiting  for  them.  Whenever  an  arrow  would 
leap  out  from  among  the  greenery,  we  would  let  a  volley 
of  bullets  fly  in  where  it  had  seemed  to  start  from. 

As  it  drew  toward  night,  we  had  old  Mauches  (the 
engineer)  fire  up,  and,  steaming  across  the  river,  anchored 
for  the  night  under  the  farther  bank. 

The  next  day  we  steamed  up  and  down  the  east  shore 
for  several  hours,  but  saw  nothing  mere  of  the  doughty 
Parentintins.  Very  likely  their  villages  are  located  a 
good  way  back  from  the  river. 

A  little  after  noon,  we  set  out  on  our  return  down  the 
Madeira. 

"If  these  rascals  trouble  like  this,  it  will  make  it  bad 
for  our  rubber-making,"  Kit  observed  as  we  were  talking 
it  over. 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  167 

"  Make  it  disagreeable,  certainly,'7  Raed  remarked. 

"  But  we  will  not  be  kept  off  by  them,"  he  added  a 
moment  after.  "  We  will  just  land  a  good  strong  party, 
and  drive  them  out,  if  they  won't  be  peaceable.  Is  not 
that  your  opinion,  Capt.  Additon  ?  " 

"  I  think  we  shall  be  able  to  deal  with  them,"  said  the 
veteran  quietly. 

"  A  set  of  murderous  wretches  like  those !  "  exclaimed 
Wade,  —  "  the  sooner  they  are  rooted  out,  the  better." 

"  Our  driving  out  the  Parentintins  would  be  con 
sidered  a  pretty  good  title  to  the  land  by  all  the  rubber- 
makers  on  the  river,"  Kit  remarked. 

The  Parentintins  are  among  the  few  wild  tribes  still 
at  enmity  with  the  whites  and  civilized  Indians.  Far 
ther  up  the  Amazons,  Major  Delanho,  with  whom  we 
passed  the  night  after  our  return  to  Manaos,  told  us,  that 
in  J  866,  a  party  of  Peruvian  surveyors,  while  going  up 
exploring  the  Pachitea,  —  one  of  the  upper  tributaries 
of  the  Amazons,  —  had  a  serious  encounter  with  a  tribe 
known  as  the  Cachibos.  The  major  kindly  showed  me  a 
published  official  account  of  this  rencounter,  an  extract 
from  which  I  have  copied  out :  — 

"During  his  (the  commander's)  absence,  several 
canoes,  filled  with  armed  Indians,  passed  down  the  river, 
the  savages  eying  inquisitively  the  steamer,  but  declin 
ing  all  the  overtures  made  by  those  on  board  to  come 
nearer.  This,  viewed  by  the  light  of  subsequent  events, 
was  supposed  to  be  a  reconnoitring  party.  The  next 
day  a  single  unarmed  Indian  emerged  from  the  dark 
forest  on  the  river-bank,  directly  opposite  the  steamer, 
and  made  signs  in  a  friendly  manner,  as  though  inviting 


168  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

the  crew  to  come  on  shore.  After  some  hesitation,  the 
two  officers  left  on  board  —  Lieut.  Tavara  and  Midship 
man  West,  the  latter  the  son  of  an  Englishman  settled 
in  Peru  —  took  the  only  remaining  boat,  and  crossed  to 
the  bank. 

"  There  was  less  ground  for  suspicion,  inasmuch  as  trav 
ellers,  Peruvians  and  others,  had  visited  numerous  tribes 
on  the  neighboring  rivers,  Ucayali  and  Huallaga,  with 
out  meeting  with  any  thing  but  friendly  treatment. 

"However,-  the  two  young  men  took  their  loaded 
revolvers  as  a  precaution  :  they  went  also  laden  with 
various  articles  suitable  for  friendly  trade  with  the 
Indians.  Three  boys  belonging  to  the  steamer  accom 
panied  them.  Hauling  the  boat  on  the  sandy  beach, 
they  followed  the  Indian  into  the  forest.  Two  or  three 
others  soon  joined  them,  all  apparently  friendly;  and 
they  walked  on.  At  length  the  officers  made  halt,  and, 
taking  out  some  trinkets,  exhibited  them  to  the  Indians. 

"  At  this  juncture,  the  boys,  who  had  remained  behind, 
saw  a  long  file  of  savages  threading  the  forest  between 
them  and  their  masters.  There  was  no  time  to  give 
warning.  Tavara,  turning  his  head,  saw  the  trap  they 
had  fallen  into ;  but,  before  he  or  his  companion  could 
take  aim  with  their  revolvers,  they  fell,  pierced  through 
by  the  long  bamboo-arrows  of  the  savages. 

"  The  boys  ran  back  for  their  lives,  and,  reaching  the 
rivei.  plunged  into  ib,  and  swam  towards  the  steamer ; 
the  crew  afterwards  pouring  a  volley  of  grape-shot  into 
the  forest,  where  the  crowd  of  savages  now  appeared, 
balked  of  the  rest  of  their  prey. 

"  The  expedition  possessed  no  means  of  avenging  this 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  169 

treachery,  or  even  of  penetrating  the  fastnesses  of  the 
savages  to  recover  the  corpses  of  the  two  officers.  It  re 
turned  to  Iquitos;  and  a  second  and  stronger  force  was 
despatched  in  December  of  the  same  year  (1866)  to  pun 
ish  the  Indians,  and  complete  the  exploration.  Three 
steamers  (one  of  them  of  five  hundred  tons)  were  sent, 
with  fifty  soldiers,  and  a  number  of  friendly  Conibo  In 
dians  to  act  as  guides ;  the  latter  being  deadly  enemies 
of  the  Cachibos. 

"  On  the  6th  of  December  this  adventurous  flotilla 
arrived  at  Chunta  Isla;  and,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Conibos,  the  armed  force  was  landed  on  the  borders 
of  the  forest  in  the  silence  of  night,  and  marched 
through  its  shades  for  about  nine  miles  to  take  the  vil 
lage  of  the  savages  by  surprise. 

"Suddenly  they  came  upon  a  small  clearing,  with  a 
number  of  huts  ranged  around,  and  having  in  the  centre 
a  kind  of  altar,  the  horrible  use  of  which  was  afterwards 
made  known. 

"  On  the  force  advancing,  a  number  of  Cachibos  darted 
out,  fully  armed.  A  volley  was  fired  amongst  them,  and 
many  fell.  The  rest,  alarmed  at  the  strange  sound  of 
the  fire-arms,  vanished  into  the  depths  of  the  forest, 
where  pursuit  was  impossible. 

"  Two  women  and  thirteen  children  were  captured,  but 
no  men  ;  and,  after  setting  fire  to  the  huts,  the  Peruvians 
set  out  on  their  return. 

"  Before  they  had  reached  half  way  to  the  river,  they 
were  assailed  by  a  shower  of  arrows  in  the  midst  of  the 
darkness,  accompanied  by  frightful  yells,  which  were  re 
plied  to  by  a  continuous  fire  of  musketry,  but  with  what 


170  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

effect  could  not  be  known.  In  this  way,  continually 
attacked  by  arrows  from  invisible  assailants,  they  at 
length  regained  the  water's  edge,  several  of  their  num 
ber  being  severely  wounded. 

"Even  after  embarking,  the  infuriated  savages  ap 
peared  in  force  at  the  edge  of  the  forest,  yelling,  and 
brandishing  their  weapons,  until  scared  away  by  rounds 
of  grape-shot." 

From  the  accounts  of  the  prisoners,  obtained  through 
interpreters,  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  bodies  of 
the  two  officers  assassinated  by  the  Cachibos  were  eaten 
by  them,  after  being  roasted  on  the  altar,  in  the  centre 
of  their  village.  It  long  had  been  known  that  certain 
small  tribes  on  the  Upper  Amazons  were  cannibals  j  and 
this  event  only  supplied  further  confirmation. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Arrival  of  "  The  Rambler."  —  Our  Bonny  Ocean-Home.  — Let 
ters  on  the  College-Steamship  Enterprise.  —  Raed's  Suggestion  to 
Wade.  —  Nut-Gathering  on  a  Grand  Scale.  —  We  take  Leave  of 
our  Southern  Hosts.  —  Our  Fair  Passengers.  —  Down  the  Ama 
zons.  —  Sheeted  Home.  —  The  Homeward  Voyage.  —  Those 
Nuts. 

~VTT~E  were  absent  twenty-two  days  on  our  Parentin- 

VV      tin  expedition. 

Five  days  after  our  return  to  the  fazenda,  "  The  Ram 
bler,"  with  Capt.  Mazard  and  crew,  arrived  up  the  Ania- 
zons  from  Para. 

How  like  home,  or  rather  like  a  familiar  friend,  the 
dear  yacht  looked  to  us,  rounding  to  off  the  wharf  at 
sunset !  We  had  sighted  her  at  three  (afternoon),  far 
down  the  river,  coming  gallantly  up  under  her  white 
cloud  of  canvas.  She  was  indeed  a  goodly  sight  for  eyes 
used  only  to  the  dingy,  slovenly  craft  of  the  Amazons. 

I  think  our  pride  was  very  pardonable  to  show  our 
bonny  ocean-home  to  these  dear  friends.  It  was  like  a 
picture  in  oil  and  color,  —  this  great  sea-bird  sailing  up, 
and  coming  majestically  round  under  perfect  handling ; 
the  crew,  in  gay  uniform,  standing  two  and  two  at  their 

171 


172  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

stations;  the  huge  white  sails,  flat  as  framed  card-board; 
the  glistening  green  paint,  without  a  scar  ;  cordage  taut; 
and  the  bright  stars  and  stripes  streaming  gayly  out. 
No  inanimate  thing  on  earth  will  come  to  be  loved  like 
a  pretty  yacht. 

"The  Rambler"  brought  our  last  mail  from  the 
United  States,  —  another  big  packet  of  letters  on  the 
college-steamship  question.  How  a  mutually  interesting 
scheme  will  draw  young  persons  into  familiar  relations  ! 
Here  were  young  fellows,  many  of  whom  we  had  never 
met,  addressing  us  as  brothers  in  a  common  cause  ;  some 
letters  flighty  to  the  last  degree,  others  full  of  good,  hard 
sound  sense,  but  all  sincere  and  earnest.  We  could  but 
feel  proud  of  our  young  fellow-citizens  as  we  read  on. 
One  fellow  wrote  (there  can  be  no  harm  in  saying  that 
his  initials  are  D.  P.  L.  of  Philadelphia),  ft  I  shall 
have  five  hundred  (500)  dollars  spending-money  this 
year.  I  will  give  every  cent  of  it  to  help  launch  the 
college  steamer." 

When  boys  talk  in  that  way,  it  means  business.  1 
do  not  believe  a  more  popular  educational  scheme  could  be 
proposed.  Our  youth  at  once  seize  the  idea,  and  are  ready 
to  pledge  their  support  of  it. 

Kaed  had  received  a  letter  from  Prof.  H.  of  Brooklyn, 
N.Y.,  whose  attention  had  been  called  to  our  plan  by 
our  friend  and  co-worker,  Mr.  Everleth  of  the  same  beau 
tiful  city. 

In  conclusion  the  professor  had  said,  "Your  'college- 
steamer  '  idea  contains  the  kernel  of  a  great  truth. 
Once  started,  it  would  supply  a  want  which  the  youth  of 
America  are  clearly  beginning  to  feel.  I  cannot  doubt 


ON   THE   AMAZONS.  173 

the  popularity  of  the  idea,  nor  yet  of  such  an  institution, 
when  once  it  is  established  and  brought  into  good 
working-order.  But,  to  do  that,  you  have,  to  use  a  homely 
phrase,  '  a  great  wheel  to  turn,'  —  one  that  I  fear  will  dis 
courage  you  before  you  will  have  brought  it  about.  To 
found  such  an  institution  as  you  propose,  and  found  it 
properly,  is  a  great  work.  But  you  are  young  :  life  is  all 
before  you.  Be  persistent ;  be  tireless  ;  reject  failure  ; 
pay  no  attention  to  opposition  (you  will  have  plenty  of 
it)  ;  and  do  not  for  a  moment  lose  sight  of  your  central 
idea.  That  is  the  formula  for  success. 

"  I  assure  you  of  my  hearty  sympathy.  So  far  as  my 
1  moral  support '  is  of  any  avail,  you  shall  have  it  cor 
dially. 

"I  would  suggest  that  a  college  steamship  might  do 
good  work  in  the  cause  of  science,  aside  from  the  educa 
tion  of  its  animal  classes  of  young  men.  Take  the  sin 
gle  branch,  Natural  History,  —  Zoology.  We  are  much 
in  need  of  critical  observation  of  fauna  carried  on  in  lo 
calities  where  species  are  indigenous.  Attached  to  vour 
college  steamship  there  might  be  scientific  men,  zoolo 
gists,  embryologists,  &c.,  whose  labors  might  thus  be 
prosecuted  without  the  expense  of  separate  expeditions. 
Such  co-operation  would  be  of  mutual  benefit,  as  you  will 
readily  see." 

"That's  an  idea  worth  making  note  of !"  exclaimed 
Kit.  ..."  And,  fellows,  we  ought  to  be  getting  back 
to  the  United  States  to  spend  the  winter  calling  public 
attention  to  our  plan,"  he  added  reflectively  a  moment 
later. 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  said  Kaed. 


174  ON  THE  AMAZONS. 

After  that,  we  sat  thinking  matters  over  for  some 
minutes. 

"There  is  one  thing,  Wade,"  Eaed  began,  breaking 
the  silence  of  our  reflections,  "  to  which  I  would  wish  to 
call  your  serious  attention,  as  a  brother :  it  is  your, 
and  perhaps  our,  mutual  duty  to  your  sister  Allicia.  I 
refer  to  her  failing  health.  She  ought  not  to  pass  an 
other  rainy  season  on  the  Amazons.  Why  do  you  not 
take  her  with  you  on  our  return-voyage  to  the  United 
States?  Every  accommodation  the  yacht  can  give  her 
is  at  her  service,  as  you  well  know." 

"  The  idea  has  occurred  to  me  several  times  within 
the  last  few  weeks,"  replied  Wade  very  gravely ;  "  but  I 
am  quite  at  a  loss  how  to  break  it  properly  to  father  and 
mother." 

"  I  advise  you  to  take  the  matter  in  hand  without 
delay,"  said  Eaed. 

Both  Kit  and  myself  warmly  seconded  the  suggestion. 

"  I  will  do  so,"  replied  Wade  at  length  ;  "but  I  dread 
it,  fellows.  It  will  be  such  a  miserable  parting  for  them 
all ! " 

"  Remember  that  it  is  only  to  escape  a  sadder  one 
that  I  propose  it,"  Kaed  said. 

Louise  came  in,  and  we  hastily  changed  the  subject ; 
though  I  could  not  but  think  it  would  have  been  as  well 
to  have  first  suggested  the  matter  to  her. 

We  had  determined  to  try  the  experiment  of  carrying 
a  few  tons  of  Brazil-nuts  to  the  North  with  us.  The 
next  day  "  The  Rambler  "  was  taken  across  to  the  south 
shore  of  the  river,  and  anchored  off  the  vine-draped 
mouth  of  the  igarape  leading  into  Boa  Lake. 


ON  THE   AMAZONS.  175 

Her  ballast,  to  the  amount  of  twenty-five  tons,  was 
then  discharged. 

Capt.  Additon  gave  us  the  use  of  his  two  montarias, 
with  the  services  of  Palo  and  Manoel.  Our  jolly  tars 
entered  heartily  into  this  nut-gathering  project  (being 
promised  a  consideration  extra,  be  it  said).  Old  suits 
were  passed  up ;  and,  for  the  next  ten  days,  the  monta 
rias  were  running  busily  back  and  forth  from  the  lake 
to  the  yacht.  The  nuts,  by  the  basketful,  were  hoisted 
carefully  on  board,  and  turned  into  a  great  bin  down  in 
the  hold.  From  two  to  three  tons  were  got  aboard 
daily.  We  might  easily  have  shipped  fifty  or  even  a 
hundred  tons,  had  we  been  so  disposed.  To  load  down 
the  yacht,  however,  like  a  beast  of  burden,  was  not  our 
pleasure. 

How,  or  by  what  arguments,  Wade  introduced  the 
subject  of  Allie's  visit  to  the  North,  I  do  not  know;  but 
that  he  had  spoken,  the  sad  look  of  doubt  and  anxiety 
which  had  fallen  upon  the  whole  family  apprised  me. 
We  felt  a  delicacy  about  speaking  openly,  and  so  waited 
to  let  them  decide  the  matter,  as  was  best,  inside  the 
family-circle. 

Five  days  before  "The  Rambler"  sailed,  Wade  an 
nounced  finally  that  Allicia  would  go  with  us,  and  that 
Capt.  Additon  himself  would  accompany  us.  This 
seemed  to  me  quite  as  natural  as  unnecessary ;  but,  of 
course,  we  made  no  comment. 

Two  days  later,  Wade  declared  that  his  mother  would 
go  instead  of  his  father,  whose  business  could  hardly 
admit  of  his  absence. 

The  next  day,  and  still  another  decision,  and  what 


176  ON   THE  AMAZONS. 

seemed  to  me  the  more  expedient,  was  arrived  at,  — 
Louise  was  to  go.  We  secretly  hailed  this  announcement. 

"  Will  she  take  '  Haidee '  ?  "  Raed  asked  with  a  comi 
cal  laugh. 

The  matter  was  left  to  Louise's  own  option.  Very 
wisely  (considering  the  fact  that  the  girl  was  quite 
ignorant  of  life  off  the  Amazons,  and  also  that  we  had  a 
crew  of  merry  sailors),  Louise  decided  that  her  hand 
maid  "  would  be  more  plague  than  profit."  Meanwhile 
their  baggage  was  being  shipped. 

"  The  Rambler"  was  to  sail  in  the  morning;  and,  the 
night  before,  we  took  our  leave  of  Capt.  Additon  and  his 
wife,  and  went  on  board  the  yacht,  now  at  anchor 
off  the  landing.  The  sacred  grief  of  their  parting  with 
their  three  children,  bound  on  what  to  them  seemed  so 
long  a  voyage,  was  not,  we  felt,  to  be  witnessed  by  us, 
comparatively  strangers.  We  could  easily  imagine  that 
this  last  night  together  was  a  sad  and  a  tearful  one. 

At  six,  A.M.,  our  boat  was  manned,  and  sent  in  to  the 
wharf.  The  final  good-by  was  spoken. 

"  0  my  poor  mamma ! "  sobbed  Louise  as  we  helped 
them  up  the  side. 

Wade  seized  my  hand,  and  wrung  it  sharply. 

"This  cuts  a  fellow  to  the  soul!"  he  cried  out  bitterly. 
"  Not  one  of  us  left  to  them  ! " 

The  great  white  sails  went  slowly  up.  Anchor  had 
been  weighed.  The  parting-gun  boomed  suddenly  across 
the  broad  river.  With  a  waft  of  her  canvas,  "  The 
Rambler  "  was  gone  from  the  little  lone  fazenda,  there 
in  the  tropical  wilderness.  There  was. a  sadness  about 
it  all,  even  to  us,  with  whom  such  a  good-by  under 
different  circumstances  would  have  been  lightly  said. 


ON  THE  AMAZONS.  177 

The  wind  favored  us ;  the  river-current  bore  us  on. 
We  moved  swiftly  down  the  Queen  of  Waters,  its  shores 
of  primeval  forest. 

On  the  fourth  day  we  passed  all  unharmed  through 
the  terrible  "  bore "  at  the  river's  mouth,  and  once 
more  felt  the  "lift  of  the  billows,"  with  every  sail  sheeted 
home. 

We  had  put  the  saloon  at  the  girls'  disposal,  together 
with  two  of  the  largest  state-rooms.  Every  thing  that 
would  make  the  voyage  comfortable  had  been  got  in,  — 
easy-chairs  (hung  on  grommets  to  avoid  the  motion), 
curtains,  books,  and  more  than  a  dozen  favorite  flower 
pots.  The  saloon  looked  both  a  parlor  and  a  conser 
vatory.  They  had  little  need  of  Myrrha's  services. 
Wade,  and  indeed  all  four  of  us,  were  devotedly  attend 
ant  on  our  fair  invalid. 

While  going  down  the  Amazons,  Allicia  had  remained 
much  the  same. 

Once  out  on  the  Atlantic,  she  and  Louise  were  miser 
ably  seasick  for  some  days ;  but  as  this  wore  off,  and  a 
week  passed,  I  saw  with  joy  that  Allie  was  more  cheery, 
and  was  regaining  color.  The  change  of  air  benefited 
her,  as  we  had  supposed  it  would. 

"  Oh,  if  I  could  only  telegraph  it  to  father  and 
mother  !  "  Wade  would  say  to  us. 

As  we  got  into  latitudes  of  the  West  Indies,  we  began 
to  enjoy  ourselves.  The  winds  were  light.  Even  the 
nights  were  warm,  —  a  rare  thing  at  sea,  be  it  said. 
Then  those  lovely  sunsets  and  those  peerless  sunrisings ! 
the  ripple  and  lap  of  the  waves,  gently  cleft  by  our 
light-running  keel !  A  moon  for  many  evenings  silvered 

12 


178  ON   THE   AMAZONS. 

the  sea,  and  shed  a  weird,  elfin  light  over  the  vast  wastes 
about  us.  Our  after-deck  was  muse-devoted.  A  violin, 
cornet,  and  concertina,  with  many-voiced  songs,  made 
night  tuneful  more  or  less,  and,  better  still,  disturbed 
nobody.  The  ocean  is  a  grand  place  for  vocal  practice  : 
no  neighbors  to  growl  over  it. 

Beaching  higher  latitudes  on  our  fourth  week,  the 
winds  grew  more  chill,  and  our  pretty  passengers  came 
less  often  on  deck.  Yet  ^Eolus  favored  us  still.  We  had 
nothing  like  a  heavy  gale  during  the  whole  voyage. 

On  the  thirty-third  day  out  we  entered  Boston  har 
bor.  The  pretty  cousins  remained  a  week  with  the 
writer's  family,  and  then  went  on  to  Baltimore  to  spend 
the  winter  with  their  father's  connections,  agreeably  to 
Capt.  Additon's  request. 

Raed,  who  seems  to  be  favored  with  more  regular 
letters  from  the  sisters  than  myself,  told  me  last  evening 
(Feb.  7,  1872),  that,  from  his  "latest  advices,"  our  fair 
invalid  was  much  improved.  From  a  photograph  he 
showed  me,  I  should  judge  so  certainly. 

Those  nuts  turned  out  as  well  as,  even  better  than,  we 
anticipated ;  although  three  tons  spoiled  from  moulding. 
The  remaining  twenty-three  tons  were  sold  at  the  wharf 
for  forty-six  hundred  (4,600)  dollars.  This  sum  nearly 
or  quite  reimbursed  us  the  expenses  of  our  round  cruise, 
besides  a  gratuity  of  a  hundred  (100)  dollars  apiece  to 
each  of  the  crew. 

I  think  our  little  experiment  will  show  that  the  nut- 
importing  trade  might  be  made  very  fairly  profitable. 


INCIDENTS 


SECOND  YACHT-CRUISE  IN  HUDSON  BAY. 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OP  "CAMPING  OUT.' 


179 


INCIDENTS 

OF 

THE  SECOND  YACHT-CRUISE  IN  HUDSON  BAY. 

BY   THE  AUTHOR   OF   "  CAMPING   OUT." 


THE  COLLEGE  STEAMSHIP. 

IT  is  an  easy  thing,  in  fact  one  of  the  easiest  things 
in  the  world,  to  put  a  grand  scheme  on  paper,  and 
talk  it  among  one's  friends ;  nor  is  it  a  difficult  matter 
to  raise  popular  enthusiasm  on  a  topic  of  public  interest. 
Americans,  especially,  are  always  ready  to  throw  up  their 
hats  for  any  thing  that  sounds  about  right,  on  gen 
eral  principles.  But  all  this  "  Hurrah,  boys ! "  approval 
does  very  little  towards  starting  a  great  public  enter 
prise  ;  and  thus  we  find  it  in  the  case  of  our  college 
steamship. 

During  this  past  winter  we  have  talked  with  many 
gentlemen  who  could  undoubtedly  help  us,  and  perhaps 
will  yet  do  so. 

We  state  our  plan,  and  set  it  forth  as  correctly  and 
concisely  as  possible. 

181 


182  YACHT-CRUISE  IN  HUDSON  BAY. 

Our  gentleman  gives  it  his  emphatic  indorsement 
invariably.  It  is  just  what  our  young  men  want :  he 
has  no  doubt  on  the  subject. 

We,  of  course,  are  glad  to  hear  him  say  so,  and,  thus 
encouraged,  make  bold  to  ask  if  we  may  not  count  on  hia 
assistance  (pecuniarily  of  course)  for  something  comforta 
ble.  We  ask  in  all  good  conscience,  knowing  that  our 
petition  is  purely  pro  bono  publico,  and  that  we  are  not 
personally  interested  to  the  extent  of  a  single  dime ; 
rather,  that  we  are  giving  of  our  own  time  and  money 
freely,  without  hope  or  wish  of  reward. 

Straightway  our  gentleman  looks  grave,  sometimes 
even  suspicious,  and  as  invariably  wants  time  to  think 
on  the  subject,  —  must  have  time  to  consider  the  matter ; 
and  this  sometimes  in  a  tone  which  means,  "  Get  out  of 
this  !  Be  off!  You  may  be  all  right ;  but  I  doubt  you 
are  a  set  of  young  swindlers  —  at  bottom  ! " 

No  doubt  there  are  plenty  of  swindlers  abroad ;  and 
so  we  must  suffer  for  the  sins  of  others.  It  is  natural, 
unavoidable  :  we  must  expect  it.  I  need  hardly  add,  that 
it  is  disheartening  till  one  gets  his  skin  toughened  to  it. 

Still  our  winter's  work  has  not  been  quite  barren  of 
results.  We  have  even  some  cash  pledged  (condition 
ally).  But  the  thing  moves  slow,  —  mighty  slow;  so 
slow,  that  one  might  well "  chew  his  heart-strings  "  some 
times  —  to  quote  from  "  old  Cluey  "  —  in  despite  and 
despair. 

Our  great  desire  has  been  to  get  the  college  steamship 
started  in  the  spring  of  1874. 

1874  is  the  Transit  year. 

We  have  earnestly  wished,  not  only  to  date  the  "  fu- 


THE  COLLEGE   STEAMSHIP.  183 

hire  American  college  "  from  that  year,  but  also  to  do 
good  service  in  making  observations  of  the  Transit,  which 
our  steamer  would  permit  us  to  do. 

If  we  get  afloat  during  this  Transit  year,  our  readers 
shall  hear  from  us.  Meanwhile  we  would  respectfully 
invite  their  "  moral  support,"  if  nothing  more.  Even 
"  new  ideas  "  will  be  thankfully  received ;  for  the  enter 
prise  is  a  great  one,  and  we  have  only  too  little  expe 
rience.  A  good  suggestion  from  any  young  (or  old) 
fellow-citizen  takes  but  a  moment  to  write,  and  three 
cents  to  forward  to  us;  and  it  may  do  us  much  good.  It 
takes  a  great  many  good  ideas  to  drive  a  great  project 
to  maturity. 

Sooner  or  later,  the  American  people  are  sure  to  adopt 
this  form  of  collegiate  education. 

Thus  the  winter  passed. 

We  were  waiting  for  the  "  heated  term  "  to  get  over; 
and,  while  waiting,  made  a  second  summer  voyage  into 
Hudson  Bay,  —  by  way  of  keeping  cool.  My  comrade 
Wash  has  so  faithfully  recorded  the  scenes  of  our  former 
voyage,*  that  I  shall  hardly  venture  upon  a  set  narrative 
of  this  last  cruise.  Some  fresh  incidents,  peculiar  to 
this  comparatively  unknown  region  and  its  singular 
people,  may  not,  however,  be  uninteresting  to  our 
readers. 

*  "  Left  on  Labrador." 


A  SCENE  IN  HUDSON  STRAITS. 

TTUDSON  STRAITS  is  a  broad  channel,  averaging 
-L -J-  from  thirty-six  to  sixty  miles  in  width,  and  not 
far  from  six  hundred  miles  in  length,  —  from  Isle  Reso 
lution  to  Carie-swans-nest,  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
Southampton  Island. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances,  its  navigation  would 
seem  to  present  no  difficulty.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is 
the  most  dangerous  passage  in  the  world.  This  is  owing 
to  two  causes ;  to  wit,  the  ice,  and  the  tremendous  tides 
which  accumulate  along  the  coasts  of  Labrador  and 
Greenland,  and  pour  in  from  the  North  Atlantic.  One 
who  has  never  been  there  can  form  no  adequate  idea  of 
the  strength  and  velocity  of  the  currents,  and  the  amaz 
ing  smash  they  make  amid  the  ice. 

From  September  to  May,  the  ice  forms  in  enormous 
quantities  among  the  hundreds  of  small  islands  and  in 
lets  along  the  north  main.  Summer  coming  suddenly, 
with  midnight  suns,  breaks  this  up,  and  sets  it  all  float 
ing  out  toward  the  Atlantic.  During  June  and  the 
early  part  of  July,  the  straits  are  filled  by  the  outcoming 
masses.  It  is  rare  that  a  vessel  can  enter  the  passage 
before  the  7th  of  July. 

184 


A   SCENE  IN   HUDSON  STRAITS.  185 

On  our  first  voyage  into  Hudson  Bay  (1868),  we  got 
into  the  Straits  July  5 ;  but,  on  our  second  voyage,  we 
were  not  able  to  gain  an  entrance  till  the  llth.  And 
even  then  we  were  near  paying  the  penalty  of  our  temer 
ity;  for,  the  next  morning  after  passing  Cape  Resolution, 
we  encountered  so  formidable  an  "  ice-patch  "  while  off 
the  Lower  Savage  Isles,  that  we  were  obliged  to  put  in 
between  them  to  save  the  yacht  from  being  stove  in  or 
crushed  up.  There  was  considerable  wind,  and  a  heavy 
swell.  These  islands  are,  save  two  or  three,  but  little 
more  than  so  many  bare,  lofty  ledges,  or  keys,  of  sienite 
and  granite,  hoary  with  huge  black  and  bronze-colored 
lichens  large  as  sides  of  leather.  Here  and  there  a  dark, 
dome-like  rock  rose  above  the  sea  fully  a  hundred  feet ; 
while  all  about  were  minor  reefs,  twenty,  twenty-five, 
and  thirty  feet  high,  smooth  as  if  polished  with  sand 
paper. 

But  what  amazed  us  was  the  ice-blocks  piled  on  and 
against  them.  Masses  as  large  as  a  church,  and  weigh 
ing  thousands  of  tons,  were  here  to  be  seen  tilted  upon 
the  ledges,  fifteen,  twenty,  and  even  thirty  feet  above 
the  sea.  It  was  a  gigantic  and  almost  grotesque  spectacle. 

"  Looks  as  if  Neptune  and  the  Tritons  had  been  set 
ting  up  their  snow-men  here,"  Wade  remarked. 

Almost  continuously,  too,  rumbling  sounds  and  heavy 
plashings  told  that  these  blocks  were  falling,  sapped,  no 
doubt,  by  the  warm  sun-rays. 

"  But  what  set  'em  up  ?"  Wash  questioned. 

At  first  I  was  inclined  to  think  that  they  were  the 
remains  of  still  huger  masses  which  had  formed  about 
the  islets  during  the  winter. 


186  YACHT-CRUISE  IN  HUDSON  BAY. 

Raed  shook  his  head  at  this  theory,  and  called  out  to 
our  skipper,  who  was  standing  in  the  bow,  for  a  solution 
of  the  problem. 

"What  did  it?"  retorted  old  stout-heart:  "why,  the 
tide,  of  course." 

"  Whew ! "  from  Wash,  gazing  curiously  around. 
"When  is  it  high-water  next?" 

That  question  could  not  be  precisely  answered  imme 
diately.  We  knew  that  it  was  at  the  full  at  nine  o'clock 
yesterday,  down  at  the  cape  ;  and  that,  consequently, 
we  might  expect  it  here  in  about  two  hours. 

"  Better  be  getting  out  of  this,  I  should  say,"  Eaed 
observed,  with  a  spice  of  anxiety  in  his  tone. 

"  Sartin,  my  son,"  replied  the  skipper,  glancing  casu 
ally  around  so  as  just  to  show  us  the  white  of  his  eye. 
"  Ain't  that  what  we're  doing  ?  " 

"  We  certainly  had  on  all  the  sail  that  was  prudent  in 
so  dangerous  a  gut,  where  unknown  reefs  might  at  any 
moment  show  their  heads  under  our  forefoot;  for  the 
charts  we  had  with  us  were  evidently  mapped  at  a  safe 
distance  from  the  locality  depicted.  Not  half  the  larger 
islands  even  were  indicated ;  and,  of  these,  the  bearings 
and  relative  position  must  have  been  plotted  from  sur 
prisingly  oblique  observations. 

As  fast  as  was  prudent  with  a  decent  degree  of  caution 
we  ran  in  through  the  group,  and  in  the  course  of  an 
hour,  or  an  hour  and  a  half,  came  to  in  a  comparatively 
open  bay,  of  perhaps  a  mile  in  breadth,  lying  between 
the  islets  and  the  mountainous  north  main. 

"  Eisk  it  here  ?  "  Wade  queried. 

"  May  as  well,  I  guess,"  said  the  skipper,  glancing 
dubiously  about. 


A   SCENE  IN  HUDSON   STEAITS.  187 

The  only  bad  features  of  the  place  were  some  ten 
or  a  dozen  large  bergs  scattered  about  the  roadstead, 
either  floating  tranquilly  or  grounded  on  sunken  ledges, 
and  two  very  massive  jams  of  cake-ice  (one  between 
two  islets,  and  the  other  between  the  islets  and  the  main 
itself)  about  half  or  three-fourths  of  a  mile  below  (east) 
where  we  lay.  There  was  no  knowing,  as  the  skipper 
expressed  it,  what  sort  of  a  frolic  those  icebergs  might 
start  on. 

So  we  lay  there,  waiting  for  the  tide,  —  waiting, 
watching,  listening,  ten  minutes,  twenty  minutes,  half 
an  hour ;  waiting  for  the  vast  wave  which  forever 
follows  the  moon,  and  which,  scientists  tell  us,  will  one 
day  stop  the  earth  itself  in  its  diurnal  swing. 

Presently  a  low,  muffled  noise,  like  the  voice  of  an 
earthquake  among  high  crags,  arose,  swelling  from 
afar. 

"  Hark ! "  from  every  mouth. 

"  Coming !  "  from  the  skipper. 

We  almost  held  our  breaths,  remembering,  as  we  did, 
the  perils  of  our  former  voyage. 

The  rumble  and  roar  came  nearer.  It  doesn't  take 
the  tidal  wave  long  to  go  twenty  miles. 

Nearer,  nearer,  and  more  frightfully  terrific  ! 

Crash,  crash,  crash  !  louder  than  the  most  near  and 
hollow  rumbling  thunder. 

"Good  God !"  ejaculated  the  skipper,  paling,  "look 
at  the  ice-jam  ! " 

The  whole  vast  mass  down  between  the  islets  and 
the  main  —  millions  of  tons  —  was  heaving  up,  tossing 
wildly,  and  churning  together. 


188  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

Imagine  it  who  can  ! 

Masses,  weighing  thousands  of  tons,  hurled  violently 
upward,  and  descending,  crunching,  grating,  grinding 
to  powder  the  inferior  cakes.  Never  till  that  moment 
did  I  fully  realize  the  power  of  the  moon's  attraction, 
the  wonderful  strength  of  gravitation. 

A  sudden  lurch  of  the  yacht  made  us  turn.  Down  to 
the  south,  among  the  ledgy  ice-laden  islets  amid  which 
we  had  come,  the  sea  was  pouring  in.  The  channels 
between  them  ran  like  mill-races,  —  all  foam  and  ice. 
We  could  see  the  tilted-up  cakes  toppling  off,  and  new 
ones  heaving  up.  The  ice-patch  from  the  main  channel 
below  seemed  to  be  rushing  over  the  rocky  barriers, — 
rushing,  striking,  crumbling  to  fragments.  The  yacht, 
caught  on  the  incoming  currents,  was  swept  irresistibly 
up  toward  the  main,  till,  meeting  at  nearly  right  angles 
the  currents  which  had  burst  the  jams,  we  were  whirled 
violently  around  and  around,  and  borne  off  diagonally 
to  the  westward.  The  whole  roadstead  boiled  like  a 
pot.  Huge  whirlpools,  two  and  three  feet  in  diameter, 
yawned,  and  sucked  in  their  breath  all  around.  Frag 
ments  of  small  ice  clattered  noisily  against  us ;  while 
now  and  then  a  heavier  bump  filled  us  with  secret  mis 
givings. 

The  icebergs  that  had  whilom  stood  so  tranquilly 
were  whirling  and  tossing  about  like  corks  on  a  duck- 
pond.  One  came  driving  past  us,  so  near  that  we  felt  its 
icy  chill,  forcing  up  a  labored  mass  of  foam  before  it, 
and  leaving  loud,  fierce  eddies  in  its  wake.  We  shrank 
back,  and  marked  its  career  in  awed  silence.  A  little 
farther  on  it  collided  with  another  berg  with  a  shock 


A  SCENE  IN  HUDSON   STRAITS.  189 

like  the  impact  of  planets.  Both  staggered  back,  frag 
ments  as  large  as  the  yacht's  hull  dropping  off  from 
each. 

We  heard  similar  shocks  all  around. 

Miraculously  almost,  as  we  then  thought,  we  escaped 
unscathed,  uncrushed;  though  we  must  have  been  borne 
full  half  a  mile  from  the  spot  where  we  originally  lay. 

In  half  an  hour,  quiet  was  restored :  only  patches  of 
frightened-looking  foam  indicated  the  recent  tumult 
of  the  sea.  More  than  half  the  islets  were  now  sub 
merged.  We  were  visibly  higher  up. 

"A  good  thirty  feet  higher,"  observed  the  skipper. 


A   HUSKY   FUNERAL. 

ONE  evening,  after  passing  the  Nix  Compestress 
(Snowy  Point),  we  put  into  an  inlet  out  of  which  the 
winter-ice  had  but  recently  floated.  Here  we  anchored 
for  the  night,  a  few  hundred  yards  off  a  beach  of  black 
shingle,  that  occupied  the  narrow  space  between  the 
water  and  the  high  shore-cliffs. 

These  cliffs  rose  full  two  hundred  feet  almost  perpen 
dicularly.  Guillemots,  eider-ducks,  and  auks  hovered 
over  their  lofty  crests.  It  was  a  sombre  place,  pervaded 
by  a  certain  bleak  grandeur. 

Here  were  three  or  four  huts  of  the  Esquimaux.  They 
were  made  of  seal-skin,  thrown  across  a  ridge-pole  of 
yellow  pine,  brought  from  the  south  shore  of  the  straits ; 
for  these  people  cross  to  the  Labrador  side  each  winter, 
returning  to  the  north  side  with  the  sun.  Each  hut 
covered  a  family  of  from  seven  to  ten,  making  a  com 
pany  of  twenty-eight  to  thirty  savages  in  all.  On  only 
two  occasions  did  we  find  a  larger  community  than  this. 

Kaed  once  argued  that  this  tendency  of  the  Esquimaux 
to  break  up  into  little  squad-like  villages  indicated  their 
low  social  grade,  which  made  it  impossible  for  them 
to  form  powerful  co-operative  communities ;  but  Wade 

190 


A   HUSKY  FUNERAL.  191 

rather  deprived  his  argument  of  its  point  by  rejoining, 
that,  in  that  case,  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  ought  to 
be  the  most  civilized  people  of  the  earth,  since  they  have 
the  most  populous  towns. 

An  oomiak  (woman's  boat)  was  drawn  up  on  the 
shingle  near  the  huts,  and  several  kayaks  (canoes)  had 
come  off  to  our  yacht ;  but  we  were  tired,  and  did  not 
allow  them  to  come  on  board.  The  novelty  of  seeing 
and  hearing  live  Esquimaux  had  about  worn  off  with  us. 

All  through  the  evening,  the  jabber  and  yeh-yeh  of 
the  children,  mingled  with  the  barking  and  wrangling 
of  their  dogs,  came  to  our  ears  as  we  lay  in  our  saloon 
with  the  bull's-eyes  open.  Only  toward  midnight  did  it 
gradually  lull  away.  I  had  been  asleep  (we  had  all 
been  asleep)  some  time,  when  Kaed  woke  me  gently. 

"What  is  it  ?"  I  asked,  peevishly  enough,  no  doubt. 

"  Oh  !  nothing  to  stir  your  temper,"  said  he,  laughing. 
"Listen  !  Hear  the  Huskies  crooning  !" 

I  got  up  and  went  to  the  bull's-eye,  near  which 
Kaed  was  standing. 

The  night-air  rushed  in,  damp  with  mist ;  and,  strange 
ly  like  a  part  and  parcel  of  it,  came  in,  too,  the  plaintive 
notes  of  a  low  intoned  song.  Its  source  was  too  far 
away  for  us  to  distinguish  words,  if  there  were  any: 
indeed,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  a  wordless 
air.  Mournful  and  regular  in  its  sad  monotony,  it  con 
tinued  minute  by  minute. 

"  It  sounds  like  a  dirge,"  said  Raed.  "  Some  of  them 
are  dead,  I  imagine.  What  a  sad,  wild  note  it  is, 
though ! " 

We  listened  for  perhaps  fifteen  minutes,  during  which 


192  YACHT-CRUISE  IN  HUDSON  BAY. 

the   song  continued  unremittingly.     I  thought  of  the 
plaint  of  the  wounded  hare  in  the  forest  at  Mt.  Katahdin. 

We  lay  down  again,  and  went  to  sleep,  with  the  wail 
sighing  in  our  ears,  and  should  have  forgotten  it,  doubt 
less,  as  we  do  our  dreams,  had  not  morning  disclosed  the 
whole  bare-headed  throng  crowded  silently  about  one  of 
the  huts. 

"  Yes,"  Raed  observed,  "  there  has  been  a  death 
among  them." 

"  I  should  like  to  witness  the  funeral  ceremony,  if 
there  is  any,"  Wade  remarked,  watching  the  gathering 
through  his  glass. 

"  Let's  go  ashore ! "  exclaimed  Wash. 

Accordingly,  after  breakfast,  we  let  down  the  boat,  and 
pulled  ashore. 

The  crowd  about  the  hut  turned  to  watch  us ;  but  the 
noisy  shouting,  and  cries  ot"Chymo"  and  "  Pillitay" 
with  which  our  presence  was  generally  greeted,  were  not 
now  raised.  The  presence  of  death  had  sobered  them. 

Unobtrusively  as  possible,  we  drew  near.  Sounds  of 
sobbing  issued  from  the  hut. 

Presently  the  crowd  about  the  flap  of  the  hut  moved 
aside ;  and  four  of  the  women,  with  bare  heads  and  di 
shevelled  hair,  bore  out  on  a  bear-skin  a  corpse.  It  was 
that  of  a  young  woman,  very  pallid  and  emaciated ;  and 
was  sewed  up  in  a  silvery  seal-skin,  with  a  hood  of  the 
same  coming  down  to  the  blue-veined  eyelids.  There 
was  no  coffin,  —  simply  this  seal-skin  shroud.  Behind 
the  body  followed  a  man,  seemingly  young,  bearing  a 
child  in  his  arms.  Then  came  several  older  persons  of 
both  sexes. 


A  HUSKY  FUNERAL.  193 

"The  young  woman  was  probably  the  wife  of  the 
savage  who  carries  the  child,"  Raed  whispered. 

"  A  very  marked  case  of  consumption,  isn't  it  ?  "  Wade 
observed. 

As  the  rude  catafalque  moved  out  from  the  hut,  all  the 
savages  groaned  and  moaned  distressfully ;  then  fell  in 
behind  in  twos  and  threes.  The  four  women  bearing 
the  body  began  a  sort  of  chant  to  a  low,  sad  air,  much 
like  that  we  had  the  preceding  night.  After  every  line, 
of  which  we  could  only  catch  now  and  then  a  familiar 
word,  came  a  sort  of  chorus  resembling  the  words  Ama- 
na-amana-aye,  in  which  all  joined.  It  had  a  strangely 
lugubrious  effect. 

We  four  fell  in  behind  the  procession,  arm  in  arm, 
and,  as  well  as  our  Anglo-American  tongues  would  syl 
lable,  joined  in  the  trist  refrain,  marching  slowly  on 
after  the  mangy,  mat-headed  groups.  We  wished  to  see 
the  interment. 

The  lofty,  hoary  cliffs,  the  black  shingle,  the  dashing 
waves,  and  that  barbarous  wail,  made  up  altogether  one 
of  the  most  impressive  scenes  I  have  ever  witnessed. 

With  all  the  natural  slowness  of  misery,  the  savage 
procession  crept  along  the  beach  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ; 
then,  entering  a  ravine  leading  up  between  frightfully- 
imminent  crags,  emerged  upon  the  rugged  plateau  above. 

This  plateau  rose  gradually  to  some  bare  granite  hills, 
at  a  distance  of  perhaps  a  mile  and  a  half.  Thitherward 
the  bearers  directed  their  burdened  steps,  stopping  often 
to  rest  the  body  on  some  wayside  bowlder. 

At  all  these  stoppages  the  moanings  and  groanings 
were  renewed ;  then  the  chant  would  be  resumed.  W® 
13 


194  YACHT-CRUISE   IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

Were  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes  reaching  the  low  hills, 
during  all  of  which  time  the  moaning  or  the  song  con 
tinued  without  pause.  In  fact,  we  began  to  think  we 
were  getting  more  than  we  bargained  for;  but  a  desire 
to  see  the  sepulture  induced  us  to  go  on. 

After  winding  in  and  out  among  ledgy  hillocks  for  a 
considerable  distance  farther,  the  bearers  halted  finally 
at  a  place  where  manj'  large  rocks  were  lying  near  to 
gether.  Between  two  of  these  they  laid  the  body,  the 
whole  tribe  groaning  and  crying  out,  with  many  sorrow 
ful  repetitions  of  the  word,  "  Nerekut,  Nerekut  !  "  which 
we  presumed  was  the  name  of  the  deceased. 

Then  the  women  brought  large  stones  and  piled  them 
over  the  body,  filling  the  entire  crevice  between  the  rocks, 
amid  piteous  cries  and  wild  gestures  of  grief. 

We  looked  about  the  place  attentively,  but  could  see 
no  trace  of  any  similar  burial.  The  spot  was  not  set 
apart  for  a  burying-ground,  we  were  convinced. 

After  the  stones  were  heaped  up,  the  savages  straggled 
off  in  irregular  squads,  —  all  save  the  man  with  the  child  : 
he  sat  down  on  a  stone,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  fu 
nereal  barrow.  We  left  him  there,  a  picture  of  stolid 
grief  and  hopelessness. 

Afterward  we  learned  that  the  Esquimaux  of  this  re 
gion  have  no  set  places  for  burial,  but  that  they  gener 
ally  carry  their  dead  off  to  some  distance  from  their  huts, 
as  in  the  present  case.  We  were  told,  that,  to  the  super 
stitious  natives,  it  is  thought  to  foretoken  death  for  a 
hunter  to  come  upon  one  of  these  isolated  burial-cairns. 

As  to  the  reason  of  leaving  the  body  on  the  surface  of 
the  ground;  it  is  probably  to  be  found  simply  in  their 


A   HUSKY   FUNERAL.  195 

lack  of  any  instrument  resembling  a  spade  or  shovel,  as 
well  as  in  the  absence  of  a  soil  that  is  suitable  for  inter 
ment.  The  stones  are  piled  up  to  keep  out  wild  beasts. 
Death  is  sad  enough  everywhere ;  but,  somehow,  it 
tseemed  doubly  pitiful  among  these  squalid  children  of 
the  bleak  North. 


MUCK-MHAMEEK. 

WE  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  Muck-MJiameek 
at  a  little  inlet  to  the  north-west  of  the  False 
Charles  (promontory),  where  he  came  on  board  in  com 
pany  with  a  score  of  others  of  his  swarthy,  jolly  country 
men,  who  used  to  heh-heh  and  yeh-yeh  us  nearly  distract 
ed  with  their  importunate  cries  of  "  Chymo"  ("Trade 
with  us  ")  and  "  Pillitay  "  ("  Give  us  something  "),  — 
especially  the  latter.  And  the  more  we  gave,  the  more 
animated  would  grow  their  petitions  :  they  had  very  little 
modesty  in  this  respect. 

On  this  occasion,  one  young  fellow  in  particular  had 
drawn  our  attention,  both  from  his  being  rather  taller  and 
better  featured  than  the  rest,  and  his  urgent  cry  of 
"  Muck-M/iameek,  Muck-Mhameek  !  " 

From  the  manner  he  pronounced  it,  we  none  of  us 
knew  what  the  word  meant. 

Kaed  showed  him,  in  turn,  a  hatchet,  a  saw,  and  a 
musket;  but  he  shook  his  head,  crying,  " Na-mick,  na- 
mick!"  ("No,  no!")  " Muck-Mhameek,  Muck-Mha 
meek  !  "  louder  than  before. 

At  length  Wash  showed  him  a  butcher-knife.  At 
sight  of  that  he  shouted,  "  All,  all !  "  ("  Yes,  yes  !  ")  and, 

193 


MUCK-MHAMEEK.  197 

seizing  it,  began  to  jump  and  dance  about  the  deck  in  a 
most  extraordinary  manner  ;  for  this  is  a  way  these  peo 
ple  have  of  expressing  their  joy  and  approbation  of  any 
thing. 

Wade  at  once  named  him  Muck-Mhameek  from  this 
circumstance. 

He  was  quite  intelligent,  and  very  good-natured :  in 
fact,  he  laughed  at  every  thing,  no  matter  what  it  was. 

Raed  made  signs  for  him  to  remain  with  us  on  board ; 
and  he,  nothing  loath,  at  once  made  himself  at  home. 
All  we  had  to  do  to  set  him  dancing  was  to  make  him  a 
present.  It  did  not  signify  much  what  it  was:  a  nail 
or  a  billet  of  wood  served  equally  well. 

His  bear-skin  frock  was  tied  together  with  thongs  in 
front ;  and  into  each  one  of  the  knots  was  fastened  some 
trinket  of  bone  or  walrus-ivory,  — much  after  the  manner 
of  certain  of  our  (young)  fellow-citizens  at  home,  who 
wear  lockets,  rings,  and  tiny  anchors,  suspended  from 
their  watch-guards.  It  was  plain  that  Muck-MJiameek 
was  something  of  a  dandy  among  his  fellows.  His  boot 
legs,  too,  were  fancifully  trimmed  with  sable-skin. 

When  the  cook  beat  his  gong  for  dinner,  Muck-Wia- 
meek  gave  a  jump,  and  would  have  leaped  overboard  in 
a  great  fright,  had  not  Wade  seized  him  by  the  collar 
just  as  he  was  clambering  over  the  bulwarks.  But,  the 
instant  he  was  fairly  stopped  and  turned  around,  he  was 
laughing  again,  his  fears  all  quieted ;  and  he  then  went 
down  into  the  cabin  with  us  without  the  slightest  hesi 
tation. 

Raed  seated  him  in  a  chair,  and  tried  to  have  him  put 
his  legs  under  the  table,  like  a  good  Christian ;  but  he 


198  YACHT-CRUISE  IN  HUDSON   BAY. 

would  not  keep  them  there.  Finally  he  sat  down  astride, 
and  let  his  legs  stick  out  on  both  sides  of  the  chair. 

This  difficulty  disposed  of,  he  turned  his  attention 
to  the  table.  Evidently  he  had  not  the  slightest  idea 
what  the  plates  and  forks  were  for.  Wash  helped  him  to 
a  spoonful  of  mashed  potatoes.  Muck-Mhameek  watched 
him  and  us  with  a  grin,  as  if  it  were  about  the  best  joke 
he  had  seen  of  late.  When  we  took  up  our  forks,  he 
very  cautiously  picked  up  his,  looked  it  over,  and  then, 
imitating  us,  tried  to  fork  up  a  mouthful  of  the  potato. 
But  he  could  not  manage  it :  the  potato  would  tumble 
off. 

Wash  called  to  the  cook  to  bring  him  a  spoon;  but, 
strange  as  it  must  seem,  he  had  no  better  luck  with  that. 
His  uncivilized  fingers  would  persist  in  tipping  the  con 
tents  back  into  his  plate  before  it  had  fairly  reached  his 
mouth. 

At  last  he  dropped  the  spoon,  and,  plunging  in  his 
fingers,  opened  his  mouth  at  full  stretch,  and  threw  in 
nearly  half  the  mashed  potato  at  one  mouthful.  We 
were  watching  with  suppressed  laughter. 

He  moved  his  jaws  a  moment,  as  if  masticating  it,  and 
then,  to  our  utter  discomfiture,  spat  it  out  all  over  the 
plates  and  the  table,  uttering  at  the  same  time  a  loud 
laugh.  We  hardly  knew  at  first  whether  to  be  indignant 
or  to  laugh,  but  laughed  of  course. 

"  He  don't  like  potato,"  said  Wade.  "Try  him  with 
something  else." 

Kaed  cut  off  a  thick  slice  of  brown-bread,  and  spread 
it  thickly  with  butter.  Meanwhile  the  potato  and  plates 
were  removed.  The  Esquimau  received  it,  grinning  im- 


MTJCK-MHAMEEK.  199 

perturbably.  First  he  smelled  of  it.  The  butter  suited 
him :  so  he  scraped  it  off  the  bread,  and  ate  it  clear. 
Then  he  tried  a  mouthful  of  the  bread  ;  but  either  that,  or 
something  else,  made  him  sneeze :  so  that  the  bread  was 
served  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  potato. 

We  were  now  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  and  did  not  offer 
him  any  thing  more  for  the  time. 

Presently,  however,  he  began  to  call  for  tuck-tu,  point 
ing  to  the  butter-plate. 

Kaed  handed  him  the  butter-plate.  There  was,  per 
haps,  half  a  pound  of  butter  upon  it,  all  of  which  he  ate 
at  a  few  mouthfuls,  smacking  considerably,  —  on  account 
of  the  salt,  perhaps;  for  the  Esquimaux  use  no  salt 
with  their  food,  so  far  as  our  observation  went. 

The  word  tuck-tu,  I  may  remark,  means  seal-fat  with 
them.  Muck-Mhameek  knew  no  better  word  for  butter. 

After  dinner,  and  during  the  afternoon,  Raed  tried  to 
find  out  from  him,  by  signs  and  such  words  as  he  under 
stood,  something  about  the  Esquimaux'  conception  of 
God,  and  their  belief  in  a  future  state  of  existence,  —  all 
with  very  indifferent  success,  I  believe. 

As  it  drew  toward  night,  we  rather  hoped  our  uncivil 
ized  guest  would  go  ashore.  He  did  not ;  and,  having 
once  invited  him,  we  could  not  very  consistently  drive 
him  from  the  yacht.  However,  we  succeeded  rather  bet 
ter  with  him  at  supper,  by  anticipating  his  appetite,  and 
presenting  him  with  a  basinful  of  chunks  of  fresh  lard. 
He  liked  that.  But,  despite  our  watchfulness,  he  suc 
ceeded  in  scalding  himself  with  a  cup  of  hot  tea,  which 
sent  him  prancing  about  the  cabin  with  dismal  howls, 
nearly  overturning  the  table  in  jumping  up  from  it. 


200  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

Getting  him  to  bed  was  another  problem.  A  bunk  on 
a  sort  of  wide  shelf,  or  divan,  against  the  side  of  the 
yacht,  was  assigned  him.  It  consisted  of  a  mattress, 
with  blankets  and  coverlet. 

We  made  signs,  and  partially  assisted  him  to  take 
oif  his  bear-skin  coat  and  dirty  moccasons  ;  but,  the  mo 
ment  our  backs  were  turned,  he  slipped  them  on  again, 
and  sat  heh-heh-iug  at  us.  He  would  take  them  off  when 
we  signed  him  to  do  so:  but  it  was  no  use:  he  would 
have  them  on  again  in  a  twinkling,  and  finally  went  to 
bed  in  full  dress. 

Those  blankets  were  a  sight  for  a  washerwoman  next 
morning.  His  snoring,  too,  was  something  to  be  re 
membered,  to  say  nothing  of  the  odors  he  developed. 

On  the  whole,  we  were  not  very  sorry  to  bid  him 
good-by,  on  sailing  next  forenoon. 

"  Talk  about  the  noble  savage  !  "  exclaimed  Wade, 
sniffing  derisively :  "  that'll  do  for  the  marines." 


ISLE   AKTOK   KEVISITED.  —  THE   BELLE   OF 
SAK-A-FAK. 

IT  was  with  curious  feelings  that  we  again  landed  on 
Isle  Aktok,  the  place  where  we  were  "  marooned/'  on 
our  former  voyage  in  here,  by  the  Honorable  Hudson- 
Bay  Company's  ship.* 

The  same  barren  islet,  with  its  hoary  ledges,  storm- 
beaten  and  wave-lashed.  So  vivid  was  my  recollection 
of  it,  that  it  seemed  but  yesterday  that  we  were  reign 
ing  there.  Should  we  find  the  Esquimau  tribe,  over 
which  we  had  set  up  our  "  military  despotism,"  to 
quote  from  Wash  ?  It  was  in  some  expectation  of  it 
that  we  wandered  about  from  point  to  point.  But  no  :  — 

"  The  isle  was  now  all  desolate  and  bare, 
Its  dwellings  down,  its  tenants  jrone  away." 

Wutchee  and  Wunchee,  Coonee  and  Iglooee,  were  long 

*  I  may  remark,  that,  this  time,  \ve  went  prepared  to  give  any  of  those  ships 
as  good  as  they  could  send,  —  "a  Roland  for  an  Oliver,"  as  our  dear  old 
professor  of  moral  science  used  to  say.  We  had  a  couple  of  eigbteen-ponnder 
rifles,  in  addition  to  the  "Napoleon"  and  the  "Little  Giant;"  and  we 
had  registered  a  solemn  vow  to  tight  it  out  with  them  in  case  they  molested 
us.  Fortunately  for  our  valor,  perhaps,  we  saw  nothing  more  of  them.  I 
may  add,  that  we  kept  our  battery  well  out  of  sight  till  fairly  at  sea. 
Uncle  Sam  might  have  objected  as  well :  the  old  man  is  getting  a  little 
childish,  they  say. 

201 


202  YACHT-CRUISE   IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

gone  ;  dead,  perhaps.  The  place  seemed  a  good  while 
deserted.  The  echoes  sounded  hollow  and  lonely,  and 
would  but  mock  our  questionings  concerning  the  former 
inhabitants.  Somewhere  in  the  great  North  they  may 
still  be  living  :  where,  God  knows. 

But  on  one  of  the  other  islands  of  that  straggling  group 
—  the  fifth  to  the  westward  —  we  next  day  discovered 
a  few  huts,  and  immediately  came  round  in  the  lee  of  it 
to  speak  with  them.  We  had  high  hopes  that  they  were 
indeed  a  part  of  our  former  subjects ;  but  they  were 
another  tribe,  nor  could  we  learn  any  thing  from  them  of 
old  Shag-la*  wina.  The  little  bay,  in  the  bight  of  which 
the  huts  stood,  offered  a  very  pretty  anchorage.  We  were 
there  over  a  week,  trafficking,  talking,  and  pow-wowing 
with  tli em  ;  thus  acquiring  some  further  insight  into 
their  language,  and  manner  of  life. 

So  far  as  memory  served,  the  talk  of  this  tribe 
differed  considerably  from  that  of  the  Isle  Aktok  folk. 
Living  isolated  from  each  other,  as  these  villages  or 
tribes  do,  I  deem  it  not  unlikely  that  the  Esquimau 
common  tongue  is  made  up  of  a  great  number  of  dia 
lects,  differing  considerably  each  from  each  both  in  pro 
nunciation  and  the  associated  meanings  of  words. 

Raed  added  quite  extensively  to  our  vocabulary  while 
here.  I  quote  a  few  of  these  new  words  and  sentences  :  — 

Telluk,  An  arm. 

Cauk-juk,  An  arrow. 

Cam-meek,  Boots. 

Ow-owk,  Blood. 

Su-o-fu-ke,  Boys. 


ISLE  AKTOK  REVISITED. 


203 


Pet-tik-fik, 

A  bow. 

Nu-law-ok, 

A  child. 

Too-nu-ok) 

The  Devil. 

To-co-rok, 

Dead. 

Ou-pul-luk) 

Day. 

Ou-nu-ok, 

Dark. 

Mik, 

Eyes. 

Se-u-tekj 

Ears. 

Ak-ta-tu-ak, 

Father. 

Hung-nok, 

Girls. 

Ekoma, 

Eire. 

Willemout, 

A  hatchet. 

Nu-rok) 

Hair. 

Ow-mat) 

Heart. 

Al-guite, 

Hand. 

Any-boot, 

A  man. 

Tat-kok, 

The  moon. 

Au-na-tha} 

Mother. 

Con-nok,  . 

Mouth. 

Mid-coot, 

A  needle. 

Crin-gokj 

Nose. 

Oo-ke-took, 

Porcupine. 

Halluk, 

A  salmon. 

Pow-it-ik, 

A  paddle. 

Suk-ki-nukj 

The  sun. 

Coop-lu, 

A  thumb. 

A-kink, 

Winter. 

Am-a-bok, 

A  wolf. 

You  lie  ! 

Shuk-le-rook  ! 

Put  that  down  ! 

Lall-a-la-o-at  ! 

204 


YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 


Get  up ! 

Give  that  to  me  ! 

Throw  it  away ! 

Take  hold ! 

Bring  some  more ! 

Come  again ! 

Don't  be  afraid ! 

I  love  you, 

I  love  you  :  you  are  my 

brother, 
To  be  mad, 
To  swap, 
To  bite, 
To  sing, 
To  laugh, 
Next  summer, 
To-morrow, 


Muk-ke-le-out ! 
Kil-e-oak  ! 
H-le-uk  ! 
Te-wil-li-oak  ! 
Kay-fe-ma-la-le-but-it ! 
Kay-ma-la-le-but-it ! 
Uk-zin-uk-uk-zi-bi-et ! 
Nu-cuk-tuk. 
Nu-ka-  a-Na-cuk-tuk-u- 

lunga. 

Nak-que-took. 
Ab-kil-le-lu. 
Kee-ee-uke. 
jE-ming-ne-ok-take. 
Co-ang-took. 
Upin-nak-p  it-ou-fa. 
How-ook-put. 


One  of  the  young  women  here  was  decidedly  the  pret 
tiest  Husky  we  had  yet  seen.  She  was  rather  taller 
than  the  average  of  Esquimau  girls,  and  fairer,  with  a 
tolerably  fresh  countenance,  and,  withal,  a  jocose  expres 
sion  quite  in  advance  of  the  stolid  visages  of  her  fellows. 

Wash  has  tried  his  hand  at  etching  her  portrait.  We 
append  the  likeness,  which  is  more  or  less  like  the 
original. 

Her  name  was  Ouafa  ;  but  we  called  her  the  "  Belle  of 
Sar-a-fak"  (that  being  the  Esquimau  name  of  the  islet), 
also  the  "Kose'of  Sar-a-fak,"  and  the  "  Husky  Queen." 
She  was  the  most  confirmed  —  I  had  like  to  say  con 
founded —  beggar  imaginable,  and,  during  our  stay,  be- 


THE  ROSE  or  SARAFAK. 


THE  BELLE  OF   SAR-A-FAK.  205 

furbelowed  herself  at  our  expense  with  a  most  heteroge 
neous  collection  of  finery,  amid  which  red-flannel  mantles, 
pea-jackets,  and  brass  lockets,  figured  conspicuously.  The 
sight  of  her,  "got  up  to  kill,"  in  all  the  spoil  she  had 
begged,  was  quite  enough  to  set  one  a-roaring,  —  all  of 
which  she  took  for  the  best  brand  of  admiration.  Any 
body  who  does  not  believe  that  flirtation  is  the  natural 
outgrowth  of  the  female  heart  should  have  seen  this 
"  Rose  "  of  the  North  make  eyes  at  our  jolly  tars.  And, 
indeed,  our  stay  here  was  brought  to  a  rather  melodra 
matic  terminus  from  one  of  her  "  affairs." 

Bonney  (one  of  our  sailors)  had  very  indiscreetty  fallen 
in  love  with  the  "Rose,"  who  smiled  on  him  most  broadly 
and  bewitchingly  in  return.  The  only  trouble  was,  she 
had  several  native  lovers  on  shore,  who  were,  no  doubt, 
suffering  jealous  agonies  all  the  while. 

Our  skipper  had  not  put  much  restriction  on  the  sailors. 
Bonney  went  ashore  at  will  after  the  anchor  was  down ; 
and,  after  the  fourth  and  fifth  day  there,  he  stuck  by  the 
"  Rose  "  most  devotedly.  His  fellow-tars  quizzed  him 
unmercifully,  and  the  skipper  chaffed  him  without  stint, 
—  quite  without  effect.  I  suppose  the  little  god  had 
made  a  good  shot.  Bonney  would  plan  to  get  ashore 
somehow,  —  either  with  us  in  the  boat,  in  the  oomiak, 
or  even  on  a  kayak  behind  a  Husky. 

The  sixth  day  he  had  a  little  unpleasantness  with  a 
couple  of  the  young  men,  who  had  purposely  got  in  his 
way  in  front  of  the  hut.  It  was  too  far  for  us  to  hear 
what  was  said:  but  they  probably  said  something  that 
Bonney  did  not  like  ;  for  he  "  went  for  them  "  (in  select 
phrase)  instanter,  knocked  one  over,  and  booted  the  other. 


206  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

After  this  exploit  we  saw  him  walking  victoriously 
along  the  beach  with  the  "  Hose,"  who  had  met  him 
all  smiles,  and,  indeed,  had  witnessed  the  fracas.  But 
revenge  is  not  a  monopoly  of  dark-browed  Spaniards  by 
any  means.  We  saw  the  looted  Husky  get  up,  and  glare 
like  an  own  brother  of  Ate  after  his  rough-handed  rival ; 
then  he  stole  down  to  his  kayak,  and,  unshipping  his 
harpoon,  went  off  after  the  lovers.  Ten  minutes  later,  I 
saw  him  climbing  up  among  the  crags  which  overhung 
the  narrow  shingle-beach,  along  which  they  had  gone. 

It  looked  as  if  there  was  mischief  brewing.  We  had 
it  in  mind  to  have  the  skipper  send  the  boat  ashore  after 
him,  but  finally  concluded  to  let  them  settle  it  between 
themselves,  —  as  they  do  in  New  York. 

It  was  sunset  before  our  gallant  came  off.  The  lovers 
had  tarried  to  walk  by  twilight.  We  had  told  the  skip 
per  to  send  Bonney  down  to  us  ;  and  a  few  minutes 
later  he  came  into  the  saloon,  looking  very  sheepish,  and 
twirling  his  cap  like  a  schoolboy. 

Said  K-aed,  "  You  will  get  into  trouble,  Bonney,  if  you 
don't  look  out.  You  had  a  Husky  after  you  with  a  har 
poon  this  evening.  Better  keep  clear  of  the  '  Hose  '  in 
future." 

Bonney  exclaimed  that  he  didn't  "  care  nothing  about 
the  jade." 

"  Then  take  our  advice,  and  stay  aboard  to-morrow," 
suggested  Raed. 

"All  right !  "  said  Bonney.  "I  don't  care  nothing 
about  the  jade" 

.How  near  the  truth  this  repeated  assertion  was  ap 
peared  afterwards. 


THE  BELLE   OF   SAIl-A-FAK.  207 

We  did  not  often  interfere  with  the  men.  Our  advice 
was  therefore  worth  something  —  from  its  rarity.  Bon- 
ney  kept  aboard  all  the  next  day,  and  revolved  his  quid. 

Evidently  he  was  missed.  The  Belle  several  times 
appeared  on  the  beach  in  "  full  dress."  She  would  just 
glance  off  to  the  yacht ;  then  toss  her  head,  and  walk  of- 
fendedly  away.  Bonney  meanly  kept  out  of  sight. 

That  night,  about  one  o'clock,  a  great  outcry  and  tar- 
yar-ing  awoke  us.  First  Wade,  then  the  whole  of  us, 
got  up,  and  ran  on  deck.  A  broad  yellow  belt  of  twi 
light  still  illuminated  the  north,  making  objects  plainly 
visible ;  and  the  beach  was  the  scene  of  a  most  excit 
ing  melee.  There  stood  Bonney,  knife  in  hand,  shout 
ing,  and  brandishing  his  weapon,  with  half  a  dozen  of 
the  Huskies  gathering  in  about  him,  their  harpoons 
poised  ready  to  throw.  And  throw  they  undoubtedly 
would  have  done,  but  for  the  "Rose,"  in  a  pea-jacket, 
who  kept  her  plucky  little  body  valiantly  between  Bon 
ney  and  the  harpoons.  And  a  stint  of  it  she  seemed  to 
be  having ;  for  Bonney  was  all  for  making  at  them  with 
his  knife. 

"  0  ye  curs !  0  ye  mangy  tikeg ! "  we  could  hear 
him  vociferating  above  the  tar-ywr  of  the  Esquimaux. 
"  Come  on  !  Come  on  ef  ye  dare  !  Just  come  on,  now  ! 
Come  on  with  yer  old  toad-stabbers  ! " 

One  harpoon  was  thrown  on  a  sudden,  and  several 
stones.  It  bade  fair  to  go  hard  with  our  man.  The  skip 
per  ran  back  to  the  davits,  calling  Donovan  and  Wey- 
mouth  ;  but  the  boat  was  down,  —  gone.  I  could  see  it 
drawn  up  on  the  shingle  a  hundred  yards  beyond  where 
Bonney  was  standing,  Raed  ran  to  the  howitzer,  and 


208  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

pulled  off  the  cover;  then,  lighting  one  of  the  splints, 
fired  the  ball  over  the  heads  of  the  combatants,  as  an 
authoritative  intimation  to  quit  their  row.  The  report 
enforced  silence  and  a  lowering  of  weapons.  Bcnney 
looked  round  to  the  yacht ;  then  started  for  the  boat. 
The  "  Rose  "  kept  by  him,  however,  till  he  was  clear  of 
the  shore ;  then  walked  scornfully  past  her  cowed  ad 
mirers,  and  regained  her  hut. 

Meanwhile  the  recusant  Bonney  had  come  doggedly 
under  the  stern.  The  skipper  greeted  him  with  a  storm 
of  abuse.  For  my  own  part,  I  rather  pitied  the  fellow. 
He  had  a  bad  cut  on  the  side  of  the  head,  forward  and 
above  the  ear,  and,  as  he  afterwards  told  me,  an  '"'al 
mighty  welt "  on  the  shin.  His  little  escapade  was 
transparent  enough.  Cupid  had  been  "one  too  many  for 
him."  He  couldn't  sleep  that  night,  and  so  had  quietly 
gone  ashore  in  the  boat  on  a  surreptitious  visit  to  his 
"lady-love."  But  other  eyes  were  sleepless  on  the 
Belle's  account :  hence  the  row. 

We  had  already  staid  here  longer  than  was  intended, 
and,  to  avoid  any  farther  complications  with  the  "  Rose," 
sailed  early  the  next  day ;  but  poor  Bonney  continued 
moody  for  nearly  a  week. 

The  Belle  was  something  of  a  singer,  as  Husky  sing 
ing  goes  :  perhaps  it  may  better  be  called  crooning. 
Several  evenings  on  shore,  we  —  by  first  singing  our 
selves  —  had  induced  both  her  and  others  of  the  girls  to 
give  us  Esquimau  songs. 

These  songs,  so  far  as  we  could  comprehend  them, 
were  chiefly  of  their  semi-annual  voyages  in  the  oomiak, 
of  lovers  in  their  kayaks,  of  bear-hunts  (nen-nook),  of 


THE  BELLE  OF   SAE-A-FAK.  209 

seal-spearing  (pussay),  and  of  harpooning  the  walrus 
(aw  ax). 

One  song,  or  rather  chant,  seemed  a  sort  of  "dead 
march  "  like  that  we  had  heard  at  the  Husky  funeral. 
Reiterative  and  monotonous  choruses  went  with  nearly 
all  their  chants. 

Still  another  of  their  canticles  we  fancied  might  em 
body  some  mythologic  tradition  of  former  ages. 

Eaed  has  attempted  a  liberal  translation  of  it,  which 
I  subjoin  :  — 

THE  BALLAD   OF  TAT-KOK  AND   SUK-KI-NUK. 

(THE  MOON  AND  SUN.) 

The  warm,  bright  Sun  was  a  lovely  maiden : 
The  Moon  was  her  wicked  brother. 

The  maidens  were  dancing  in  a  hut : 
Sweet  Suk-ki-nuk  was  there  with  them. 

Some  one  seized  and  shook  her  shoulders  :  * 
Suk-ki-nuk  did  not  know  who  it  was. 

When  next  the  maidens  danced  in  the  dark  hut, 
Suk-ki-nuk  dipped  her  hand  in  damp  soot. 

Tat-kok  again  drew  near  to  seize  her ; 
But  Suk-ki-nuk  deftly  smeared  his  cheek 

An  old  and  ugly  hag  now  struck  a  light : 
Poor  Suk-ki-nuk  perceived  her  wicked  brother. 

In  sore  affright,  she  paled,  and  ran  away  : 
The  shameless  Tat-kok  pursued  hard  after  her. 


*  The  Esquimau  way  of  declaring  the  love-passion. 
14 


210  YACHT-CRUISE   IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

Soon  they  came  to  the  far  side  of  the  world  ; 
Then  both  jumped  headlong  into  the  starry  sky. 

There  they  still  go  chasing  round  and  round  ; 
Tat-kok  pursuing,  Suk-ki-nuk  flying  from  him. 

And  sometimes  Tat-kok  turns  his  sooty  cheek : 
Then  he  is  too  black  for  us  to  see  him. 

Their  voices  had  no  great  compass.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  a  single  octave  comprised  most  of  their  notes. 
Especially  did  they  appear  to  delight  in  certain  plaintive 
minor  chords,  which  they  would  sing  over  and  over. 

The  Belle  had  a  fair  soprano  voice,  and  would  some 
times  rise  to  la2. 

Wade  and  Wash  made  several  efforts  to  teach  them 
Anglo-American  songs,  —  "  Dixie,"  "  The  Bonny  Blue 
Flag,"  "Yankee  Doodle,"  &c.  In  several  cases  they 
caught  the  air;  but  the  tunes  seemed  to  have  too  much 
movement  for  them,  and  required  too  much  and  too  rapid 
vocal  flexibility  and  variation.  I  have  little  doubt,  how 
ever,  that  a  missionary  might  teach  them  psalm-tunes; 
but  we  were  not  missionaries  exactly. 

For  my  part,  I  enjoyed  them  far  the  best  while  sing 
ing  their  native  chants,  which  seemed  to  befit  them, 
and  fall  in  harmony  with  their  surroundings.  Seated 
on  the  white  bear-skins  in  front  of  their  huts,  they 
would  croon  together  for  hours,  our  party  looking  on, 
listening  amusedly,  and  gathering  now  and  then  a 
word. 


A  TIGHT  WITH  SEA-HORSES. 

AT  the  entrance  of  Fox  Channel,  or  "The  North 
west  Fox "  as  its  rather  egotistical  old  discoverer 
has  named  it,  just  where  the  North  Main  trends  off 
sharply  to  the  north-west,  are  situated  three  small, 
ledgy  islets,  hound  ahout  (at  the  time  of  our  visit)  with 
narrow  ice-fields  as  with  girdles.  They  are  simply  rocky 
"  keys,"  without  a  particle  of  soil  or  a  trace  of  vegetation  ; 
hut,  lying  in  triangular  form  as  they  do,  they  afford  a 
very  fair  haven,  enclosing  a  little  bay  of  perhaps  ten 
acres  extent,  accesible  from  the  south-west  through  a 
narrow  arm  of  about  forty  yards.  The  northward  pas 
sages  between  the  islands  were  choked  with  jammed 
ice-cakes.  With  the  wind  northerly,  the  little  bay  was 
smooth  as  glass. 

Here  we  passed  the  night  of  the  29th  of  July,  the 
following  day,  and  the  next  night. 

While  at  breakfast  the  morning  after  our  arrival, 
Donovan  came  down  to  report  a  walrus  on  the  ice  off  the 
port  bow.  Thus  far,  we  had  seen  but  two  of  these 
creatures.  Hastily  finishing  our  coffee,  we  went  on  deck, 
taking  each  a  loaded  musket  from  the  rack  at  the  foot 
of  the  companion-way. 

211 


212  YACHT-CRUISE   EN   HUDSON  BAY. 

"  Where  away  ?  "  sang  out  the  skipper. 

"  Port  bow,  sir,"  from  Wej'inouth ;  "  on  the  ice  right 
in  under  the  foot  of  that  island.  See  him,  sir  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  Stunner,  ain't  he  ?  What  a  big  lump  of 
a  beast !  Look  at  those  tusks  !  Some  ways  off,  though  ; 
a  good  cable's  length  (720  feet).  Those  muskets  wouldn't 
so  much  as  prick  his  tough  hide." 

Raed  was  looking  through  his  glass. 

"  Two  of  them,"  he  remarked. 

"  Two  of  them  ?  "  exclaimed  Wash. 

"  Yes ;  a  little  farther  along,  —  right  in  the  shadow  of 
those  black  shore-rocks.  Don't  you  see  him  ?  " 

Lying  on  the  ice  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks  was  a  second 
dark  mass,  relieved  only  by  the  white  ivory  of  its  long 
tushes.  At  first  sight,  it  might  have  passed  for  a  dark, 
oblong  bowlder. 

"Must  have  one  of  those  chaps !"  Wade  exclaimed. 

"  Not  so  easily  done,"  laughed  the  skipper.  "  Moment 
you  let  down  a  boat,  and  paddle  up  to  killing-distance, 
they'll  roll  off,  sposh,  into  the  water.  That'll  be  the 
last  you'll  see  of  'em." 

While  we  were  speaking,  the  second  walrus  came  out 
from  the  shadow  of  the  crag,  and,  clawing  along  with 
his  flippers,  drew  near  the  one  lying  out  on  the  ice,  utter 
ing  a  deep  note  like  the  hoarse  mutterings  of  a  bull. 
We  could  hear  its  fin-like  feet  scrape  on  the  ice  as  it 
drew  its  gross  body  heavily  forward. 

"  Fight,  I  guess,"  said  Raed.  "  Going  to  be  a 
set-to." 

"  Fight,  or  a  courtship,"  rejoined  the  skipper.  "  Can't 
tell  which.  Pretty  much  alike  sometimes,  ye  know." 


A   FIGHT   WITH   SEA-HORSES.  213 

The  two  huge  creatures  approached  each  other. 

"  That's  no  fight,"  said  Wash ;  "  for  they  merely  rubbed 
their  heads  together." 

"  A  courtship,"  pronounced  the  skipper. 

"  Those  must  be  awkward  caresses,"  laughed  Wade. 

"  Not  awkward  to  them,  perhaps,"  Kaed  observed. 

"But  how  are  we  to  hunt  them  ?  "  Wash  demanded. 
"  That's  the  question." 

"  Might  train  the  howitzer  on  them,"  suggested  Wade, 
a  trifle  doubtfully. 

"  So  we  might ! "  cried  the  skipper,  turning  to  where 
the  six-pounder  sat  covered  with  rubber-cloth  on  its  car 
riage.  "  Never  thought  of  the  l  Napoleon.'  Just  the 
thing,  if  we  can  hit  with  it.  —  Donovan,  fetch  up  the  am 
munition." 

"  Would  it  not  be  better  to  use  '  Little-Giant '  balls, 
a  dozen  of  them  to  a  charge,  than  to  run  the  risk  of 
hitting  with  one  six-pound  ball?"  Wade  suggested. 
"  Sha'n't  probably  get  more  than  one  shot.  Keport'll 
scare  them  off." 

It  was  decided  to  use  small  balls. 

"  The  Little  Giant "  was  a  weapon  we  had  had  made 
"  to  order  "  for  our  use  before  leaving  Boston.  It  was  a 
sort  of  cannon-rifle  of  an  inch  bore,  and  set  with  a  swivel 
on  a  small  gun-carriage.  It  carried  a  leaden  bullet  of 
six  ounces  weight.  We  used  to  have  a  deal  of  sport 
with  it ;  and,  out  of  regard  for  its  prowess  as  a  shooter,  we 
had  named  it  "  The  Little  Giant."  Just  now  the  lock 
was  out  of  order,  or  we  should  have  used  it  on  the  sea 
horses.  The  howitzer  was  wheeled  across,  charged  with 
fifteen  of  the  small  balls,  and  pointed  over  the  bulwarks. 


214  YACHT-CRUISE   IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

The  skipper  undertook  to  do  the  shooting.  As  the  yacht 
lay  comparatively  still,  there  was  good  opportunity  for  a 
shot. 

"Take  'em  both,  cap,"  encouraged  Wash. 

But,  while  he  was  sighting  and  squinting,  one  moved 
behind  the  other  from  where  we  lay. 

"Never  mind;  pin  'em  together,"  Wade  advised. 

The  skipper  struck  a  match,  and,  letting  it  burn  to  a 
coal,  touched  the  priming. 

IPusJi,  bang  ! 

The  wind  was  fresh.  The  smoke  all  flew  back  into 
our  faces.  We  ran  down  the  deck  to  be  out  of  it,  and 
got  a  glimpse  of  the  game.  At  the  same  moment  we 
heard  heavy  splashings,  and  a  loud,  distressful  roar,  not 
wholly  unlike  that  of  lions. 

"  Plunked  him ! "  shouted  the  exultant  skipper  in 
ornate  English.  "  Lower  the  boat !  Down  with  her ! " 

The  davits  creaked. 

Seizing  our  muskets,  we  jumped  in,  and  after  us  the 
skipper,  who  had  run  below  after  a  whale-lance. 

"Shove  off!" 

Donovan  and  Weymouth  bent  at  the  oars. 

One  of  the  walruses  lay  floundering  about  on  the  ice : 
the  other  had  taken  to  the  water. 

We  did  not  approach  directly,  but,  sheering  off  to  the 
right,  made  for  the  ice-border  at  a  point  some  fifty  yards 
above  where  the  great  animal  lay.  Before  we  had 
reached  the  ice,  however,  the  creature,  by  a  last  strong 
effort,  threw  itself  over,  and  soused  into  the  sea ;  but  it 
rose  in  a  few  seconds,  and  floated,  struggling  painfully. 

"  About  done  for,"  Raed  pronounced. 


A.  FIGHT   WITH   SEA-HORSES.  215 

Just  then  we  caught  sight  of  the  black  head  of  its 
mate,  rising  for  a  second,  then  as  suddenly  disappearing. 

"  Saw  us,"  said  the  skipper.  "  We  sha'n't  get  sight  of 
him  again." 

Instead  of  landing,  we  therefore  pulled  slowly  down 
beside  the  ice-field  to  within  ten  yards  of  the  floundering 
monster,  when  first  "Raed,  and  then  Wash,  gave  it  a  ball 
from  their  muskets  ;  without  much  apparent  effect,  so 
far  as  its  struggles  indicated.  Wade  and  I,  therefore, 
fired  in  succession  at  its  head;  but  still  it  wallowed  and 
rolled  heavily,  raising  a  considerable  sea. 

"  Ease  her  up,"  cried  the  skipper,  "  gently.  Let  me 
have  a  dab  at  him  with  my  long  fork" 

This  was  a  critical  movement.  The  sailors  backed 
the  boat  up,  however ;  and  we  were  nearly  within  lancing- 
distance,  when,  with  a  plash  and  a  loud  snort,  the  black 
head  of  the  second  walrus  rose  within  two  feet  of  the 
side  of  the  boat ;  and  not  only  its  head,  but  its  neck  and 
shoulders  and  gleaming  tusks. 

The  sailors  uttered  a  shout  of  dismay.  Raed,  Wade, 
and  the  rest  of  us,  rose  to  strike  with  the  butts  of  our 
muskets ;  for  its  head  was  on  a  level  with  our  very  faces. 
Its  singular  eyes  seemed  blazing  with  fury.  We  all 
struck  j  but,  with  a  terrific,  marine-sounding  bellow,  it 
clinched  its  tusks  over  the  gunwale.  The  skipper  turned, 
and  thrust  with  his  lance ;  and  we  all  paid  on  to  its  head 
again  As  well  might  we  have  struck  with  switches. 
It  wrenched  at  the  side  of  the  boat,  uttering  a  frightful 
growling  like  that  of  a  tiger.  Gunwale,  and  deep  down 
into  the  planking,  cracked  and  crunched  under  those 
terrible  tusks.  It  thrust  us  bodily  through  the  water 


216  YACHT-CRUISE   IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

sidewise  against  the  ice.  Wash  and  both  the  sailors 
leaped  out ;  but  the  skipper  kept  prodding  madly,  and 
presently  —  as  he  said  —  hit  one  of  its  eyes,  when,  with 
a  snort,  the  monster  let  go,  and  suddenly  sank  out  of 
sight.  Nor  did  we  again  get  sight  of  it. 

While  this  encounter  was  going  on,  the  one  we  had 
shot  at  so  much  ceased  to  flounder,  and  lay  floating 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  ice,  lifeless. 

We  drew  in  the  carcass,  and,  with  great  labor,  broke 
out  the  tusks  for  trophies. 

Two  of  the  six-ounce  balls  seemed  to  have  passed 
through  its  body.  The  ice  all  about  was  splashed  and 
puddled  with  bucketfuls  of  its  blood.  The  water,  too, 
was  fearfully  discolored. 

As  for  our  boat,  it  was  so  racked  and  shattered,  that 
it  was  with  difficulty  that  we  got  back  to  the  yacht 
with  it. 


THE   LAIR   OF   A   BEAR  AND  CUBS. 


leagues  beyond  Berg  Head,  we  anchored  to 
-L  an  ice-field  lying  between  an  outstanding  ledge  and 
the  main.  The  process  of  ice-anchoring  may  be  explained 
briefly  :  It  consists  simply  in  making  a  vessel  fast  to 
ice  by  means  of  strong  iron  grapples,  to  which  are  bent 
small  hawsers.  We  made  use  of  but  three,  —  one  at  the 
bow,  one  at  the  waist,  and  one  at  the  stern.  A  large 
ship  would  need  more  The  method  was  to  luff  up,  let 
ting  the  schooner  touch  gently  against  the  ice,  broadside 
on.  Three  sailors  would  then  seize  each  an  ice-chisel, 
and,  getting  down,  go  off  twenty  yards  or  so  to  where 
the  ice  was  firm  and  thick,  and  cut  as  many  oblique 
fluke-holes.  Meanwhile  three  other  sailors  would  have 
thrown  over  the  heavy  grapples,  and,  dragging  them 
along  to  the  holes,  catch  in  the  flukes.  The  slack  cable 
would  then  be  drawn  in  taut.  After  this  we  used  gen 
erally  to  run  down  planks  secured  by  ropes  between  the 
side  and  the  ice,  to  bear  the  rubbing. 

That  day  the  wind  blew  a  succession  of  sharp  squalls 
from  the  north-west,  accompanied  by  brief  but  copious 
gusts  of  snow.  Beating  up  the  channel,  which  was  beset 
with  driving  ice,  became  a  slow,  and,  withal,  a  dangerous 

217 


218  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

undertaking.  Towards  two  o'clock,  P.M.,  the  bumps 
from  the  heavy  ice-cakes  became  so  frequent  and  heavy, 
that  our  skipper  deemed  it  more  prudent  to  take  refuge 
in  the  lea  of  this  stable  ice-field,  which  the  tides  had  not 
yet  broken  up.  Here  the  sea  was  as  smooth  as  a  mill- 
pond  ;  but  the  ice-field  itself,  covered  with  the  snow,  had 
a  wintry  appearance,  —  wintry  for  August,  we  thought. 
The  snow  flew  too,  driven  by  the  strong  gusts.  Drifts 
two  feet  deep  sifted  over  the  bulwarks.  It  was  the 
sounds  of  the  sailors'  shovels  scraping  up  these  drifts 
which  waked  us  next  morning. 

Going  on  deck,  we  found  the  sun  shining  brightly,  and 
the  snow  melting  at  the  edges.  The  clouds,  too,  were 
placid  and  long.  The  wind  had  lulled,  or  at  least 
shifted  so  far  to  the  northward  as  to  be  broken  by  the 
mountainous  heads  and  cliffs  of  the  main,  which  towered 
boldly,  almost  savagely,  not  half  a  mile  away. 

All  along  the  white  border  of  the  ice-field,  running  off 
diagonally  to  the  shore,  the  seals  were  frisking  and  leap 
ing.  Scores  of  them  lay  in  the  sun,  just  where  they 
could  flop  off  into  the  water  at  a  moment's  alarm. 

As  we  sat  on  the  rail  watching  them,  and  sunning  our 
selves  as  well,  we  were  eye-witnesses  of  an  encounter, 
common  enough  in  these  regions  doubtless,  yet  not  with 
out  interest  for  us.  Without  even  a  previous  glimpse, 
and  with  no  particular  intimation  as  to  how  he  got  there, 
the  head  of  a  large  animal,  which  we  at  once  recognized 
as  a  white  bear,  rose  out  of  the  water  fully  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  shore,  and  within  two  yards  of  a  seal 
which  lay  complacently  warming  his  ocean-chilled  frame. 
In  another  moment  the  bear's  paws  were  hooked  on  to 


THE   LAIR   OF   A   BEAR   AND   CUBS.  219 

the  snowy  edge  of  the  ice-field.  The  seal  waked  with  a 
quick  flop.  At  the  same  instant  we  heard  an  eager,  raspy 
growl  of  savage  hunger.  With  a  grand  muscular  effort, 
the  bear  landed  its  whole  body  on  the  ice  ;  and,  before  the 
seal  had  moved  six  feet,  the  strong  claws  of  the  polar 
monster  had  pinned  it  down.  But  even  the  inoffensive 
puoca  is  not  wholly  destitute  of  defence.  We  saw  it 
turn  grandly,  its  teeth  chattering  like  castanets;  while  a 
fishy  bark  of  defiance  resounded  over  the  snowy  field. 

In  vain:  the  terrible  jaws  of  its  great  antagonist 
crushed  down  its  feeble  fencings,  and  seized  it  irresisti 
bly  by  the  throat. 

Meanwhile  scores  of  its  timid  kin  quietly  took  the  hint, 
and  dropped  off,  splash,  splosh,  splosh,  splash,  into  the 
water.  In  half  a  minute,  there  was  not  a  seal  in  sight 
along  the  field. 

The  bear  grappled  and  sucked  eagerly  for  a  few  mo 
ments  ;  then,  raising  its  prey  in  its  mouth  clear  of  the 
ice,  it  stalked  off  quarter-wise  across  the  floe  with  a  cer 
tain  bearish  sturdiness  and  independence  which  smacked 
of  the  freedom  of  nature.  The  seal  could  scarcely  have 
weighed  less  than  two  hundred  pounds. 

"  Bravely  butchered ! "  exclaimed  Baed.  "  But,  fellows, 
we  ought  to  have  a  hand  in  that.  What  a  splendid 
bear-skin  is  walking  off  from  us  ! " 

"That's  so!  "cried  Wash.  "What  are  we  waiting 
for?" 

Going  hastily  below,  we  took  each  a  musket  and  a 
handful  of  loose  cartridges. 

"  Better  put  on  the  bayonets,"  Wade  suggested. 
"  Best  things  in  the  world  at  close  quarters  with  man  or 
beast." 


220  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

(We  had  purchased  our  muskets,  bayonets  and  all,  at 
a  sale  of  government  arms.) 

Dropping  on  to  the  ice,  we  set  oft'  at  a  run  ;  for  the 
bear  was  now  nearly  a  thousand  meters  off;  and  so  near 
ly  did  its  white  coat  resemble  the  snow,  that  we  could 
hardly  have  distinguished  it  but  for  the  darker-coated 
seal  it  was  carrying. 

Occasionally  it  stopped  to  rest  its  burden,  but  did  not 
seem  to  note  our  approach  till  we  had  come  up  within  a 
hundred  rods;  when  it  faced  about  on  a  sudden,  and  put 
out  its  nose  for  a  few  surprised  sniffs  of  inquiry  ;  then 
it  as  nonchalantly  resumed  its  load.  Running  on,  we 
closed  up  to  within  two  hundred  meters ;  then  prudently 
slackened  our  pace.  The  bear  was  not  hurrying :  on 
the  contrary,  it  mogged  sturdily  on,  treating  us  with  an 
entire  disregard,  which  seemed  to  say,  "Mind  your  own 
business  or  not,  as  you  like  ;  but  it  will  be  the  worse  for 
you  if  you  don't" 

We  were  not,  however,  much  afraid  of  the  animal. 
With  our  muskets  charged,  and  bayonets  fixed,  we 
felt  tolerably  sure  of  coming  off  first  best  in  case  the  bear 
should  turn  upon  us.  The  nearer  we  came,  however,  the 
more  sizable  the  creature  looked.  Its  huge  track  too, 
with  its  projected  claws,  was  suggestive  ;  all  the  more 
tli at  the  bleeding  seal  rendered  the  trail  hideous  with 
gore. 

u  What  suppose  makes  it  beat  off  so  persistently  ?  " 
Wash  queried. 

"  Got  a  lair,  I  suspect,"  Eaed  said.  "  Seems  to  be 
making  in  toward  the  shore-crags,  you  observe  :  got  a 
den  up  there  somewhere,  probably." 


THE   LAIR   OF   A  BEAR   AND   CUBS.  221 

(i  And  the  den  may  disclose  a  waiting  mate,  perhaps 
a  whole  colony  of  hears,"  said  Wade  a  little  apprehen 
sively.  "A  set-to  with  one  bear  might  he  all  well 
enough ;  but  a  free  fight  with  half  a  dozen  would  be  quite 
another  thing." 

"  Might  fire  now,  one  of  us,"  I  said.  "  The  bear 
would  probably  turn,  if  hit.  Then  the  rest  could  de 
spatch  it." 

We  did  not,  however,  but  continued  following  leisurely 
in  pursuit. 

Beaching  the  shore-rocks,  the  creature  paused  ;  faced 
about  for  a  few  moments  to  rest  itself;  then  entered  read 
ily  a  narrow  gorge  between  two  cliffs,  and  quickened  its 
pace. 

The  bottom  of  the  gorge  disclosed  a  double  track, 
showing  that  the  bear  had  issued  out  of  it  to  come  to  the 
water. 

"Certainly  a  lair,"  Wade  observed  again.  "  Let's  be 
cautious.  We  may  stumble  into  it." 

A  few  rods  farther  on,  a  rocky,  shelf-like  terrace  jutted 
on  one  side  of  the  ravine.  Raed  suggested  that  we 
should  mount  this,  and  follow  along  on  it,  as  a  safer  line 
of  chase.  So,  clambering  up,  we  proceeded  along  the 
buttress-like  ledges  at  a  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
above  the  bed  of  the  hollow  along  which  the  bear  had 
gone.  We  had  already  lost  sight  of  it.  The  gorge 
wound  between  projecting  spurs  of  crag.  As  we  ran  for 
ward,  the  rugged  terrace  rose  higher  above  the  bottom 
of  the  ravine,  which  here  narrowed  to  a  mere  chasm, 
choked  with  vast,  snowy  bowlders. 

On  we  went,  jumping  from  one  slippery  rock  to  an- 


222  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAT. 

other.  Momentarily  a  warning  growl  from  below  made 
us  pull  up  in  great  haste.  Dropping  on  his  hands  and 
knees,  Raed  crept  forward,  and  peeped  over  the  wet,  drip 
ping  ledge,  but  immediately  drew  back. 

"  See  'em  ?  "  Wade  demanded. 

"  Careful,  fellows  ! "  Raed  admonished.  "  Creep  down 
here  carefully.  Don't  slip,  nor  push  each  other. 
'Twould  be  no  joke  to  tumble  over  there." 

We  edged  down  beside  him,  and  peered  over. 

Down  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet,  and  partially  under  a 
rock  which  overhung  the  other  side  of  the  chasm,  sat  the 
bear,  glaring  up  with  a  blood-besmirched  head  and  two 
fierce  light-gray  eyes.  Broad  muzzle  ;  pink  nose ;  lip 
drawn  up,  disclosing  two  yellow-white  teeth  long  and 
strong  as  a  lion's  ;  shaggy  white  breast,  and  stout  paws, 
stained  and  gouted  with  blood ;  ears  felinely  laid  back,  — 
all,  'twas  a  savage  apparition ! 

No  wonder  E-aed  didn't  like  the  thought  of  tumbling 
over  there.  A  yard  in  front  of  its  feet  lay  the  throttled 
seal,  with  three  quarter-grown  cubs  nuzzling  it,  growl 
ing,  and  essaying  to  tear  and  eat. 

We  gazed  with  a  sort  of  fascination. 

"  By  Jude,  but  isn't  that  a  picture  !  "  Wash  exclaimed. 

In  its  setting  of  wet  black  rocks  and  bloody  snow,  it 
was,  in  truth,  a  striking  spectacle ;  a  glimpse  of  pure,  un 
relieved  savagery.  Well  depicted  on  canvas,  it  would 
have  been  worth  a  fortune. 

"  Cubs  !  "  muttered  Wade.  "  That's  why  the  old  bear 
made  off  so,  — these  cubs." 

"  Well,  fellows,  going  to  fire  on  her  ?  "  queried  Wash. 

"  Yes  ;   I  suppose  so,"  Raed  said.     "  Kit,  you're  the 


THE  LAIR   OF   A   BEAR   AND   CUBS.  223 

crack-shot, — in  your  own  opinion,  I  mean.  Let  drive 
at  her." 

I  drew  back  a  little,  cocked  my  musket,  and,  taking  a 
rapid  aim  at  the  creature's  head,  let  fly;  and  never 
touched  her. 

My  comrades  exclaimed  that  they  heard  the  slug 
strike  the  rock,  and  immediately  pointed  to  the  mark  of 
it  a  foot  above  where  the  bear's  head  had  been.  Any 
sportsman  will  know  how  to  account  for  this.  Indeed, 
one  is  very  apt  to  overshoot  on  so  greatly  depressed  an 
aim.  At  the  report  and  the  stroke  of  the  bullet,  the 
bear  bounded  forward  past  her  startled  cubs,  and  growled 
defiance  in  roars  that  resounded  fearfully  along  the  ra 
vine.  Undaunted,  and  with  the  hair  rising  along  its 
back,  it  faced  us  unflinchingly,  ready  to  do  battle. 
Surely  it  is  a  brave  beast.  The  cubs,  now  first  conscious 
of  danger,  huddled  behind  their  dam,  and,  looking  up, 
miawled  hoarsely  like  scared  cats. 

"I  say,  fellows,"  cried  Raed,  "it's  a  shame  to  sit 
up  here  out  of  reach,  and  murder  the  old  bear  like  this  !  " 

Something  of  this  feeling  had  come  into  all  our 
thoughts,  I  suppose ;  and,  the  longer  we  watched  them, 
the  less  we  felt  like  shooting.  And,  though  it  sounds 
decidedly  unsportsmanlike  and  girl-hearted,  I  may  as 
well  add,  that  we  presently  went  away,  and  left  them  un 
molested  in  their  snowy  fastness,  —  the  home  Nature  has 
allotted  them. 

"  Where's  yer  bear  ? "  cried  the  skipper,  with  that 
grin  which  always  greets  the  unsuccessful  hunter. 
"  Thought  I  heard  ye  fire." 

"Escaped  us,"  Wade  answered. 

And  so  it  did  in  one  sense. 


AN  ATHAPUSCOW  SWEAT. 

WHILE  cruising  the  high  mainland  to  the  west 
of  "  Sir  Thomas  Kowe's  Welcome,"  as  the  pas 
sage  to  the  westward  of  Southampton  Island  is  whimsi 
cally  called,  we  one  morning  espied  a  man  standing  on 
the  high  shore-ledges. 

Signs  were  made  ;  when  the  boat  was  sent  off  to  bring 
him  aboard.  It  was  not  an  Esquimau,  as  we  at  first  sup 
posed,  but  an  Indian  of  the  Athapuscow  tribe,  inhabiting 
the  country  to  the  west  and  south-west.  His  name  was 
Mack-qua-ta,  a  compound  word  of  the  Athapuscow  lan 
guage,  or  dialect,  meaning  Long  Day's  Son. 

A  very  reckless,  improvident  fellow  was  Mack-qua-ta. 
We  kept  him  with  us  over  a  week,  and  finally  set  him 
ashore,  with  a  few  presents,  forty  or  fifty  miles  farther  up 
the  "  Welcome." 

He  was  rather  more  intelligent  than  the  average 
Husky  man,  and,  withal,  taller  and  better  made  physi 
cally.  From  the  fur-traders  he  had  picked  up  a  few 
English  words. 

From  him  we  learned  that  there  was  a  village  of  his 
people  about  ten  miles  up  the  Chesterfield  Inlet ;  and,  a 
favorable  haven  being  found  for  the  yacht,  we  made  a 

224 


AN   ATHAPUSCOW   SWEAT.  225 

trip  overland  (for  the  inlet  was  blocked  with  ice)  to  visit 
it.  Mack-qua-ta  accompanied  us  to  do  the  honors  of  his 
native  town. 

We  found  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  huts  and  skin- 
tents  sheltering  a  mangy  population  of  perhaps  eighty 
or  a  hundred,  including  pappooses.  I  do  not  know  that 
any  extended  description  of  their  filth  and  beastliness  — 
a  spectacle  at  once  disgusting,  hopeless,  and,  I  may  add, 
piteous  —  would  be  of  interest  to  any  one. 

One  incident,  however,  was  at  least  amusing.  On  the 
night  after  our  arrival  in  the  village,  we  were  horribly 
disturbed  by  a  most  doleful  howling,  seemingly  at  no 
great  distance  from  our  tent. 

It  became  quite  impossible  to  sleep. 

"  What,  for  Heaven's  sake,  can  they  be  up  to  ?  "  Wash 
growled,  whopping  over,  and  at  last  sitting  up  on  elbow. 

It  was  a  pure,  gratuitous  howl,  with  just  enough  of 
the  human  in  it  to  distinguish  it  from  the  dogs. 

Mack-qua-ta  was  fast  asleep  and  hard  a-snoring  under 
his  bear-skin  in  the  corner. 

"  Wake  him  !  "  Raed  snapped  out. 

Wade  gave  him  a  kick ;  at  which  he  first  grunted, 
then,  on  a  repetition,  yawned  himself  out  with  many 
long-drawn  snuffs. 

"  Hark,  Mack-qua-ta  ! "  said  Wash. 

The  savage  stared ;  then,  in  an  instant,  poised  himself 
in  the  attitude  of  intense  listening. 

"Hear  that  noise?"  Raed  demanded. 

He  nodded  quickly  and  violently. 

"  What  is  it,  Mack-qua-ta  ?  " 

"  Go  see,"  muttered  the  Indian,  starting  hastily  out. 

15 


226  YACHT  CRUISE   IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

He  was  gone  fifteen  minutes,  perhaps,  and  came  in  with 
a  little  guttural  chuckle,  like,  yet  strongly  unlike,  a  laugh. 

"  Well,  what  is  it  ?  "  asked  Wade. 

"  Um  sick,"  replied  the  Athapuscow,  still  chuckling; 
for,  with  these  savages,  sickness  is  a  joke  with  all  save 
the  sick  one. 

"  Um  been  off.  Um  eat  dead  dog.  Um  come  back 
sick,"  continued  Mack-qua-ta  in  unsympathetic  glee. 

"  No  wonder  they  are  sick  !  "  Wade  exclaimed. 

"  But  is  that  what  makes  them  howl  so  ?  " 

Mack-qua-ta  shook  his  head. 

"Pallowa  sassamos"  he  said.  "  Men's'n  -  man,  he 
howl." 

"  Oh !  it's  the  medicine  -  man,  is  it  ?  "  cried  Wash. 
"  What's  he  doing  that  for  ?  —  trying  to  howl  the  dead 
dog  out  of  him  ?  " 

The  short  night  was  already  well  passed.  The  early 
light  disclosed  a  couple  of  grotesquely-arrayed  savages, 
sitting  on  the  stones  before  one  of  the  huts,  writhing 
about,  and  howling  dismally  at  frequent  intervals.  These 
were  the  medicirie-men.  The  patients  were  inside  the  hut. 

They  were,  as  we  learned,  two  brothers,  who  had  been 
off  after  caribou,  and,  losing  their  way,  had  nearly 
starved,  being  obliged  to  eat  their  dog.  The  surfeit  of 
food  in  which  they  had  indulged  on  getting  back  the 
previous  day,  rather  than  the  dog-meat,  was,  probably, 
the  cause  of  their  gripes. 

The  howls  went  on  apace ;  but  about  a  couple  of 
hours  later,  the  brothers  getting  none  the  better  for  it, 
the  medicine-men,  after  the  modus  of  their  more  civilized 
compeers,  concluded  to  change  the  treatment.  Mack- 


AN  ATHAPUSCOW   SWEAT.  227 

qua-ta  had  been  out  beating  up  news ;  and  while  we 
were  eating  a  breakfast  of  ship-biscuit,  sugar,  and  coffee, 
which  we  had  brought  along  from  the  yacht,  he  came  in, 
crying  out,  "  Much  sweatum  !  You  come  see." 

We  hastily  finished  our  ration,  hearing,  meanwhile, 
a  great  racing  and  pounding  past  the  tent,  as  if  the 
whole  tribe  were  en  route  for  the  shore  of  the  inlet. 
Maek-qua-ta  darted  out,  and  joined  the  crowd. 

Hurriedly  gathering  up  our  property  in  a  pile,  and 
bidding  the  Newfoundland  watch  it,  we  started  out  after 
the  rout. 

Forty  or  fifty  Athapuscows,  old  and  young,  were  hud 
dled  along  the  water's  edge  ;  and  we  saw  over  their  heads 
a  smoke  rising.  Pushing  in,  we  perceived  that  this  carne 
from  a  fire  built  a  few  yards  from  the  water.  Several 
of  the  savages  were  piling  on  fresh  fuel,  and  also  rolling 
into  it  round  water-worn  pebbles  as  large  as  one's  head. 

Near  by  was  set  a  trough  made  of  half  a  log,  partly 
full  of  water  just  dipped  up.  Over  this  the  two 
medicine-men  were  pitching  a  small  tent  of  black  skin, 
looking  for  all  the  world  like  a  big  kettle  bottom  up.  It 
was  perhaps  four  feet  high,  and  six  or  seven  in  diameter. 

"  Those  are  the  patients,  I  suppose,"  Wade  remarked, 
pointing  to  a  couple  of  nearly  naked  savages  (they  had 
only  very  scanty,  and  withal  very  filthy,  waist-cloths) 
standing  a  little  apart.  They  shivered  with  the  cold ; 
and,  from  the  manner  in  which  they  doubled  themselves 
up,  the  seat  and  nature  of  their  malady  were  very  ap 
parent. 

Having  got  the  kettle-tent  up,  the  two  doctors,  with 
loud  whoops,  dragged  the  sufferers  forward,  and  thrust 


228  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

them  with  no  great  gentleness  into  it,  one  after  tlie  other; 
the  whole  assemblage  applauding  them  with  wild  cries. 
One  of  them  entered  along  with  the  patients  :  the  other 
remained  without,  and  now  carefully  fastened  the  edges 
of  the  tent  down  with  stones. 

Silence  was  now  the  order.  Not  a  sound  came  from 
the  tent,  nor  yet  from  the  crowd  of  savages  looking  on. 
We  could  hear  the  fire  crackle. 

Presently  the  doctor  outside  rolled  along  one  of  the 
hot  rocks,  and,  just  lifting  the  edge  of  the  tent  on  that 
side,  pushed  it  under.  Soon  a  great  seething  and  siz 
zling  began  within.  They  had  put  it  into  the  trough. 
Steam  streamed  from  tiny  holes  in  the  skin,  and  crept 
out  on  the  ground  under  the  edges  of  the  tent.  But, 
save  now  and  then  a  surprised  "Ough  "  from  some  of  the 
bystanders,  silence  was  preserved. 

Another  stone  was  introduced,  and  presently  another. 

Then,  on  a  sudden,  we  began  to  hear  the  bark  of  a 
dog  from  within.  It  was  followed  by  another,  and  still 
a  third,  barking  all  together. 

"Ough,  ough,  ough,  oughf" 

It  was  very  naturally  done,  and  sounded  like  a  pack 
of  hounds  in  full  cry  after  a  fox. 

Presently  one  began  to  whine  and  ti-yi ;  then  they  all 
took  it  up,  yelping  and  ti-yi-ing  in  the  most  piteous  way. 
All  at  once,  a  fight  broke  out :  growls,  barks,  and  a 
general  sound  of  worrying  and  biting,  mingled  with  the 
most  frightful  yelps  and  yells. 

We  fell  to  laughing  incontinently;  till,  perceiving 
savage  eyes  in  the  crowd  turned  evilly  on  us,  we  pru 
dently  suppressed  our  mirth. 


AN   ATHAPUSCOW   SWEAT.  229 

Another  stofae  was  rolled  under  ;  and,  while  it  was  siz 
zling,  a  crow  hegan  to  haw  and  caw  in  the  tent ;  and  soon 
a  myriad  of  crows  were  in  full  chorus,  "Haw,  haw,  haw, 
haw,  haw !  "  so  correct  to  nature,  that  one  would  never 
have  doubted  but  for  the  counter-evidence  of  his  eyes. 

A  fifth  stone  was  followed  by  the  growlings  and  hoarse 
bark  of  bears ;  a  sixth,  by  the  miawlings  of  lynxes ;  a 
seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth,  by  a  confused  medley  of  wild 
sounds,  —  dogs,  crows,  bears,  lynxes,  all  fighting  and 
yelping  together. 

At  last,  when  all  the  stones  had  been  exhausted,  and 
the  patients  had  now  been  in  the  steam-bath  upwards 
of  an  hour,  the  medicine-man  outside  broke  a  long  switch, 
and,  pulling  off  the  tent  with  a  single  jerk,  amid  clouds 
of  steam  cut  at  the  reeking  inmates  right  and  left. 
They  leaped  up  with  tremendous  whoops,  and  ran  splash 
ing  into  the  cold  water,  where  they  soused  each  other, 
tumbling  over  and  over. 

The  whole  crowd  was  now  whooping,  and  brandishing 
switches.  The  instant  one  of  the  patients  issued  from 
the  water,  more  than  a  score  of  warriors,  squaws,  and 
boys,  took  after  him,  by  guess.  The  rest  charged  after 
the  other  ;  and,  for  more  than  half  an  hour,  we  saw  them 
racing  about  the  village,  dodging  in  and  out  among  the 
huts  with  whoops  that  resounded  for  miles. 

It  was  not  till  late  in  the  afternoon  that  we  saw  any 
thing  more  of  the  sick  men.  Barring  sundry  red  stripes, 
they  were  then  apparently  well.  The  spirit  of  the  dog 
had  been  effectually  exorcised  and  beaten  out  of  them. 


THE   "IRON-STONE"  OF  WAGER  INLET. 

OUR  friend  and  fellow-yachter,  Mr.  G.  W.  Bur- 
lei  gh  (Wash)  is  greatly  interested  in  the  sub 
ject  of  comets,  meteors,  and  aerolites,  particularly  the 
latter.  Whenever  he  hears  of  the  fall  of  one  of  these 
bodies,  or  reads  an  account  of  one  in  the  papers,  he 
forthwith  makes  a  note  of  it ;  and  often,  too,  he  takes  the 
trouble  to  write  half  a  dozen  letters  for  "  further  details," 
items  of  which  are  carefully  treasured. 

Nor  does  information  alone  content  him.  During 
our  yacht-cruises  off  and  on  for  the  last  year  or  two, 
he  has  been  making  a  collection  of  meteoric  stones. 
At  present,  this  collection  is  not  very  extensive,  embra 
cing,  in  fact,  but  seventeen  specimens  all  told ;  and 
some  of  these  are  rather  doubtful,  though  Wash  doesn't 
think  so.  If  any  of  us  want  to  rouse  his  temper,  we  have 
only  to  saunter  casually  along,  take  up  one  of  these 
"  sky  stones,"  and  remark,  "  That's  no  more  a  meteorite, 
Wash,  than  my  old  boot !  "  Then  there  is  lively  talk  for 
the  next  fifteen  minutes.  The  whole  ground  has  to  be 
gone  over  thoroughly  ;  and  nothing  less  than  abject  ac 
quiescence  on  our  part  ever  puts  an  end  to  the  dispute. 

This  is   particularly  the  case  when  we  refer  to  the 

230 


THE   "  IKON-STONE  "   OF   WAGER   INLET.     231 

"big  one"  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  cabinet,  partly 
because  there  are  grounds  for  doubting  its  celestial  origin, 
and  partly,  too,  because  it  is  Wash's  especial  pride,  — 
the  "  grandmother  "  of  the  whole  family. 

Its  weight  is  a  few  ounces  over  three  hundred  and 
seventeen  (317)  pounds.  On  the  outside  it  is  covered 
with  a  thin  black  rind ;  but  the  inside  is  of  a  steely- 
gray  color.  The  mass  is  highly  magnetic,  as  we  came 
near  learning,  to  our  cost,  when  first  we  got  it  on  board 
the  yacht  ;  for  we  had  placed  it  on  deck,  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  binnacle. 

We  have  had  a  fragment  of  this  stone  analyzed,  and 
were  given  the  following  statement  of  assay  :  — 

Iron 91.0  parts. 

Nickel 7.1     " 

Cobalt .6     " 

Copper  and  tin .3     " 

Manganese .2     " 

Sulphur traces. 

Chrome  iron " 

Silica ,  .8  parts. 

100.0 

It  has  a  "  history,"  which  may  not  be  uninteresting. 

We  first  learned  of  its  existence  while  lying  in  Wager 
Inlet.  One  day,  several  of  the  Huskies  came  off  to  us 
in  their  kayaks:  and  we  noticed  that  one  of  their  bone 
lances  was  tipped  with  some  dark  substance,  which  I  at 
first  took  for  iron ;  for  it  was  very  rusty. 

"  Omiak-sook  ?  "  said  Wash  inquiringly,  pointing  to 
it,  and  then  off  to  sea:  meaning  to  ask  whether  he  had 
«$ot  the  iron  from  some  ship  ;  for  that  is  their  word  for 


232  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

The  man,  who  was  a  fat-faced,  rollicking  fellow,  under 
stood  immediately,  but,  somewhat  to  our  surprise,  replied, 
" Na-mick,  na-mick  !  "  ("  No,  no  !  ")  pointing  off  inland. 

"Possible  they've  got  an  iron  mine  ?"  Wade  queried. 

This  did  not  seem  likely. 

"  That  may  be  a  bit  of  meteoric  iron,"  Kaed  remarked, 
examining  the  lance-point. 

This  hint  at  once  set  Wash  off  into  a  fever  of  curiosi 
ty.  He  got  the  savage  aside ;  and  I  saw  him  pointing 
to  the  lance,  then  off  inland,  with  many  repetitions  of  the 
question,  "Where  is  this  ?  "  ("  Kina?")  and  "  Au-nay 
dabik?"  ("Is  this  far  off?") 

The  savage,  who  judged  these  queries  mainly  by  the 
gestures  and  signs  which  accompanied  them,  answered 
alternately,  "Abb"  ("Yes")  and  "Na-mick:"  so  that, 
in  the  end,  Wash  was  left  in  great  uncertainty  as  to 
whether  the  place  was  one  mile  or  fifty  miles  away ;  the 
Esquimau  idea  of  linear  measurement  being  of  the  most 
primitive  sort. 

But  he  was  ready  to  "  chijmo  "  ("trade  "). 

Wash  bought  the  lance  of  him  for  a  steel  butcher- 
knife,  and  also  obtained  two  bone  knives,  or  rather 
chisels,  of  the  others,  both  of  which  were  tipped  with  the 
same  rusty,  stony  substance.  They  were  about  a  foot  in 
length.  The  metallic  tip  was  secured  to  the  bone  with  a 
bone  rivet. 

Nought  to  do  but  that  we  must  set  off  to  hunt  up  this 
meteorite.  Wash  talked  of  nothing  else  all  that  day 
and  evening.  The  rest  of  us  did  not  much  incline  to 
such  a  wild-goose  chase.  The  season  was  passing,  and  we 
wanted  to  be  getting  out  of  the  straits.  But,  as  nothing 


THE  "  IRON-STONE  "    OF   WAGER  INLET.     233 

else  would  answer,  an  "  expedition "  was  started  —  we 
four  young  gentlemen  and  Mack-qua-ta,  with  our  skip 
per  and  two  of  the  sailors  —  the  next  forenoon.  The 
services  of  the  savage  with  the  lance  were  secured,  for  a 
consideration  (a  piece  of  pine-plank  and  a  small  bar  of 
iron),  to  be  our  guide.  We  set  off  across  the  headland, 
over  ledgy  ridges  of  hoary,  lichen-clad  sienite,  and,  after 
a  tramp  of  three  hours  and  a  half,  descended  into  a 
gorge,  —  one  of  those  singular  hollows  such  as  one  only 
sees  in  these  frozen  regions,  —  shut  in  by  ice-capped 
ridges,  its  sides  wet  with  trickling  waters,  and  frightfully 
green  with  a  surfeit  of  unhealthy  mosses. 

Here  were  half  a  dozen  Husky  huts  :  it  was  one  of 
their  summer  resorts.  Our  savage  of  the  lance  led  the 
way,  calling  out  to  us,  "  Savasevik  na-aunay  !  "  mean 
ing  that  the  iron-stone  was  near.  A  score  of  the  Es 
quimaux  from  the  huts  followed  wonderingly  after  us 
with  their  ever-repeated  whine  of  "  Pillitay,  pillitay  !  r 
("  Give  us  something  ! ") 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  lower  down,  we  came  to  it. 
Wash  had  run  ahead,  and  was  on  his  knees,  examining 
it,  when  we  came  up.  The  sight  of  his  extravagantly- 
tickled  face  was  enough  to  dispel  all  the  fatigue  of  our 
tramp. 

"  Almost  just  such  a  one  as  fell  at  ^Egos  Potamos  !  " 
he  exclaimed,  slapping  his  leg,  and  jumping  up  to  exe 
cute  a  double  shuffle.  "  Plutarch's  description  might  be 
applied  to  this,  every  word  of  it !  Tliat  was  a  dark  fire- 
smitten  stone,  equal  to  a  wagon-load ;  and  so  is  this." 
(Trying  to  turn  it  over.)  "  I  can't  even  lift  one  end  of  it ! " 

"  But  this  is  not  embedded  in  the  ground,"  Raed  ob 
jected. 


234  YACHT -CRUISE  IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

"  Don't  care.  Huskies  have  probably  dug  this  out. 
See  how  they've  chipped  it,  and  trodden  the  earth  hard 
all  about  it !  " 

"  But  where's  the  proof  that  this  is  truly  a  meteorite  ?  " 
Wade  coolly  inquired. 

You  should  have  seen  the  indignant  lightnings  dart 
from  Wash's  outraged  optics. 

"Proof!"  he  exclaimed.  "Why,  can't  you  see  the 
black  rind,  which  is  the  unmistakable  characteristic  of  a 
meteoric  stone  ?  And  look  here  !  "  catching  up  a  tiny 
chip  of  it  which  lay  near.  "  See  how  that  will  cling  to 
the  side  of  it !  Strongly  magnetic  !  Sure  indication  ! 
And  look  round  !  Is  there  another  stone  that  bears  the 
least  resemblance  to  this  in  this  whole  locality  ?  " 

Wade  subsided,  though  not  without  an  aggravating 
grin. 

"  Humph  ! "  ejaculated  Wash,  following  him  with  a 
glance  of  utter  contempt.  Then  to  Raed,  "  Here,  help 
me  to  turn  this  over.  I  must  have  this  if"  — 

A  movement  and  murmur  of  disapproval  from  the 
savages  made  him  pause.  They  did  not  like  to  see  us 
making  so  free  with  the  stone. 

"Na,  na/"  grumbled  one  hideous-faced  old  Husky, 
shaking  his  lance  with  a  menacing  gesture.  "  Na  ba- 
mook  dak  mai  ik  Savasevik  !  "  ("Not  take  the  good  iron 
stone  !  ")  At  which  they  all  cried  out,  "  Na-mick  !  "  and 
"Neg-ga-mai  !  "  ("  Not  right !  ") 

"  They  won't  let  you  have  it  !  "  laughed  the  skipper. 

"I  will  have  it !"  Wash  exclaimed,  looking  around. 

Then  he  began  to  shout  "  Chymo  !  "  pointing  off  in 
the  direction  we  had  come.  The  savages  observed  him 
iii 


u  I  'must  have  this,"  Wash  continued,  turning  to  us  in 
some  perplexity. 

"  But  how  could  we  ever  get  it  to  the  yacht  ?  "  Eaed 
said.  "It's  a  fearfully  heavy  mass.  How  could  we 
ever  carry  this  thirteen  miles  ?  —  over  crags  and  ridges 
too !  " 

"But  I  must  have  it! "  Wash  interrupted  in  real  dis 
tress.  "  I  wouldn't  miss  of  this  for  —  for  any  thing  — 
for  a  thousand  dollars ! " 

The  sailors  and  skipper  began  to  laugh ;  but  we  knew 
Wash  too  well  to  be  much  astonished.  We  surmised  that 
it  would  be  like  pulling  eye-teeth  to  get  him  away  with 
out  it. 

"  Well,  if  you  can  devise  any  way  for  removing  it  that 
will  be  in  any  wise  practicable,  —  why,  of  course,  we 
will  assist,"  Raed  observed. 

Wash  looked  around  in  sore  trouble. 

"  It's  a  good  twelve  miles  over  to  where  the  schooner 
lies,"  the  skipper  remarked. 

"  Perhaps  the  sea  makes  up  nearer  at  some  point," 
Wade  suggested  at  length. 

Kaed  then  went  off,  and  climbed  part  way  up  the  side 
of  the  ravine. 

"It  does!"  he  shouted.  "This  hollow  leads  out  to 
the  inlet  on  the  lower  side  of  the  headland.  I  can  see 
the  water." 

"  How  far  ?  "  Wash  demanded. 

"  Well,  for  a  guess,  four  miles,  —  all  descending." 

"  Hurrah  !  I'll  pack  it  on  one  of  their  dog-sledges  !  " 

"  But  the  yacht  must  be  taken  round,"  said  Wade. 

So  we  sent  the  skipper  with  the  sailors  back  over  the 


236  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

ridge,  with  orders  to  take  the  schooner  round  the  next 
forenoon,  and  then  come  up  the  gorge  with  a  quantity  of 
bar-iron,  knives,  &c.,  —  such  articles  as  we  had  provided 
for  trade.  We  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  undertake  the 
removal  of  the  stone  till  the  presents  were  on  the  ground. 

Meanwhile  we  prepared  to  pass  the  night  as  comforta 
bly  as  we  could.  We  had  brought  along  a  small  shel 
ter-tent,  with  a  bag  of  ship-bread,  and  a  coffee-pot  well 
charged  ;  and  we  now  set  up  the  tent  near  the  stone,  so 
that  Wash  might  have  the  satisfaction  of  sitting  on  it 
while  at  supper.  Probably  this  circumstance  inspired 
him;  for  he  discoursed  to  us  at  lengthen  the  probability 
which  the  fall  of  such  masses  as  this  gave  his  theory. 

That  night  is  indelibly  fixed  in  my  memory,  not  so 
much  from  Wash's  discourses  as  from  a  horrid  deed  of 
the  Huskies.  It  was  the  unnatural  murder  of  an  aged 
savage  by  his  own  sons  ;  not  out  of  any  malice,  but  sim 
ply  because  he  was  too  decrepit  to  be  of  further  use  to 
his  family.  Some  idea  will  be  obtained  of  the  low  social 
condition  of  this  people  when  it  is  stated  that  this  is  no 
uncommon  practice  with  them. 

We  had  observed  several  of  the  Huskies  apparently 
busy  about  something  a  little  distance  down  the  hollow ; 
and,  while  we  were  lunching  in  our  tent,  Mack-qua-ta, 
our  Athapuscow  interpreter,  called  to  us  to  come  out  and 
u  see  raw-meat-eaters  kill  father." 

Hastily  complying,  we  saw  a  group  of  ten  or  a  dozen 
of  the  Esquimaux  going  down  the  valley.  A  little  in 
advance  of  them  tottered  an  aged  savage  ;  while  on  each 
side  of  him,  at  a  distance  of  a  few  feet,  walked  a  younger 
man.  We  did  not  at  first  perceive  that  there  was  a  thong 


THE   "  IRON-STONE  "    OF   WAGER   INLET.     237 

wound  once  about  the  old  man's  neck,  and  that  each  of 
the  younger  men  at  his  side  held  one  end  of  it. 

"  Much  come  fast,"  jabbered  Mack-qua-ta,  starting  to 
run  after  the  squalid  group.  "  See  'urn  much  choke  !  " 

But  half  comprehending  him,  we  hurried  on,  and  min 
gled  with  the  savages,  who  were  rudely  pushing  and  scuf 
fling  with  each  other. 

Mack-qua-ta  himself  was  in  great  glee,  and,  seeing  our 
looks  of  inquiry,  kept  repeating  in  a  low  voice,  — 

"  Him  eatum  !  Him  drinkum  !  Him  choke  !  Choke  ! 
Die ! » 

"Is  it  possible  they're  going  to  kill  the  man?  "  Kaed 
exclaimed.  "What  has  he  done,  Mack-qua-ta  ?  What 
do  ?  Done  bad,  Mack-qua-ta  ?  " 

The  Athapuscow  did  not  at  once  take  in  the  moral 
significance  of  the  question,  but  presently  said,  "  Him 
old.  Him  eat  too  much.  Drink  too  much  tuck-tu  " 
("  seal-oil ")  ;  laughing  broadly  all  the  while,  as  though 
he  was  about  to  enjoy  an  amusing  sight. 

Very  slowly  and  infirmly,  without  once  turning  his 
head  to  the  noisy  crowd,  the  old  savage  tottled  on  till 
he  came  to  where  we  had  seen  the  men  at  work. 

A  hole  had  been  dug  in  the  rank  moss,  and  a  heap  of 
wet  stones  thrown  out.  Here  he  turned,  and  looked  long 
and  wistfully  toward  the  sinking  sun,  which  now  showed 
but  a  hand-breadth  over  the  precipitous  side  of  the  ravine. 
We  saw  that  his  face  was  shrunken  and  hideously  wrin 
kled.  Some  indistinct  words  escaped  his  loosely-flapping 
lips ;  to  which  one  of  the  young  men  replied,  and  then 
offered  him  a  skin-bag,  which  was  partly  full  of  some  sort 
of  drink,  —  train-oil,  probably. 


238  YACHT-CEUISE   IN    HUDSON   BAY. 

The  old  man  received  it  with  an  eager,  trembling 
movement,  and  at  once  applied  the  puckered  orifice  to 
his  mouth.  He  drank  long  and  copiously,  all  the  other 
savages  looking  on  in  a  sort  of  derisive  silence.  So  still 
did  it  become  for  the  moment,  that  we  could  distinctly 
hear  the  deep  swallowings  of  the  drinker  as  he  raven 
ously  drained  the  skin. 

From  the  size  of  the  bag,  I  judge  that  it  must  have 
held  two  quarts.  Not  once  did  the  old  creature  take  it 
away  from  his  mouth  till  it  was  empty  (a  space  of  sev 
eral  minutes)  ;  and  even  then  he  sucked  at  it  with  loud, 
disgusting  sounds.  One  of  the  young  men  who  held  the 
thong  caught  the  skin  away,  and  threw  it  into  the  hole, 
which,  as  we  already  surmised,  was  to  be  his  grave. 

With  another  long  look  toward  the  sun,  that  was  now 
rapidly  passing  from  his  sight,  and  a  fe\v  despairing 
groans  and  sighs,  the  old  man  sat  down  on  the  heap  of 
stones.  He  spread  his  feet  apart  as  if  to  brace  himself, 
and  then  bowed  his  head  on  his  chest.  The  young  men 
stepped  forward,  and  pulled  down  the  skin-smock  from 
his  shrivelled  neck,  and,  bringing  the  thong  to  bear  on 
his  throat,  stood  apart,  drew  it  tightly,  and  repeatedly 
threw  their  weight  against  it. 

"  What  a  brutal  spectacle  !  "  exclaimed  Wash.  "  Must 
we  stand  here  and  allow  such  an  act  ?  Ought  we  to  ?  " 

"  It's  their  custom,"  Raed  remarked,  turning,  and  mov 
ing  away.  "  The  old  man  seems  to  expect  it,  and  per 
haps  desires  it.  Very  likely  he  served  his  own  father  in 
the  same  way.  They  would  resent  our  interference,  and 
we  should  probably  be  obliged  to  resort  to  violence.  No, 
no  !  If  we  save  his  life  now,  they  will  probably  kill  him 
to  morrow.  It's  horrible  !  Let's  hurry  away." 


THE   "  IRON-STONE  "    OF    WAGER   INLET.      239 

That  evening  we  learned  from  Mack-qua-ta  that  the 
two  stranglers  had  continued  to  hold  the  t.^ong  till  their 
victim  was  dead.  Then  they  had  unloosed  it,  rolled  the 
body  into  the  hole,  and,  after  throwing  in  moss,  piled 
upon  it  the  stones  on  which  he  had  sat. 

Mack-qua-ta  also  said  that  the  two  savages  who  had 
done  the  fearful  deed  were  the  old  man's  sons ;  and  that 
it  is  the  custom  of  these  tribes,  at  the  coming-on  of  win 
ter,  to  strangle  those  who  are  too  aged  to  go  south,  or  to 
be  of  further  service  to  the  tribe. 

From  the  top  of  the  crags  we  espied  the  yacht  coming 
round  the  point  at  a  little  after  nine  next  morning  ;  but 
the  skipper  did  not  make  his  appearance  till  nearly  twelve. 
Three  of  the  sailors  came  up  with  him.  They  brought 
half  a  dozen  of  the  long  iron  bars  tied  up  in  a  bundle, 
together  with  ten  or  twelve  of  our  (cast-iron)  butcher- 
knives,  several  of  the  hatchets,  and  a  roll  of  red  flannel. 

The  Huskies  soon  gathered  round.  Wash  pointed  to 
the  stone,  and  said,  "  Cliymo  "  to  them  ;  then  began  a 
general  distribution  of  the  presents.  The  articles  were 
certainly  worth  as  much  as  the  stone,  from  a  commercial 
point  of  view  ;  but  if  (as  Kaed  conjectured)  they  re 
garded  the  aerolite  as  an  object  of  worship,  the  case 
might  be  susceptive  of  another  view.  We  could  not 
learn,  however,  that  they  had  any  traditions  concerning 
it,  —  a  fact  which  clearly  troubled  Wash ;  and  they  of 
fered  no  further  resistance  when  we  began  to  remove  it. 

By  the  aid  of  the  Esquimau  who  had  acted  as  our 
guide,  we  hired  one  of  their  bone  sledges,  and  a  half- 
dozen  of  the  savages  to  draw  it.  We  did  not,  of  course, 
think  of  attaching  one  of  their  harum-scarum  dog-team? 


240  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

to  it :  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  found  the  man-team 
quite  as  bad  ;  for  they  had  no  judgment  about  racing  over 
stony  places,  and  the  bed  of  the  ravine  offered  us  rough 
sledding.  Soon  as  ever  the  stone  was  loaded  on,  and  the 
word  given,  they  set  up  wild  cries  of  "  Ka,  ka,  ka!" 
Others  cried,  "  Eigh,  eigh,  eigh  !  " 

Off  went  the  sled  bumperty-bump  !  We  had  all  we 
could  do  to  keep  up  for  the  first  eight  or  ten  rods ;  then 
came  a  fair  capsize,  which  took  fifteen  minutes  to  rec 
tify. 

On  again,  Wade,  Kaed,  and  the  skipper  making  fran 
tic  attempts  to  head  them  off,  and  tone  down  the  speed : 
all  in  vain.  Bump,  thump  !  whoops  and  3rells  !  They 
grew  excited,  and  ran  headlong  over  holes  and  bowlders. 
Then  came  a  square  smash-up,  which  delayed  us  an 
hour  to  patch  up. 

"  Eigh,  eigh  !  ka,  ka  f  "  and  on  again  ;  Wash  following 
distractedly  after  the  sledge,  with  arms  stuck  out  from 
right  to  left  to  keep  it  from  overturning,  his  face  a  pic 
ture  of  excited  anxiety.  The  rest  of  us  ran  abreast  of 
the  team,  wildly  brandishing  our  muskets,  and  all  shout 
ing  with  an  uproar  fit  to  shame  Bedlam. 

It  would  be  useless  to  recall  the  number  of  overturn- 
ings  and  break-downs,  which  only  vast  patience  remedied. 
It  was  dusk  before  we  came  out  to  the  sea  and  had  got 
rid  of  our  team.  The  stone  had  to  be  left  on  the  beach 
all  night ;  for  the  yacht  could  not  be  brought  very  near 
the  shore-rocks. 

Poor  Wash  scarcely  slept  three  winks,  so  uneasy  was 
he  lest  the  Huskies  should  steal  it  back  again  before 
morning.  If  I  heard  him  going  up  the  companion-stairs 


THE   "  IRON-STONE  "   OF   WAGER  INLET.      241 

once  that  night  to  look  off  to  see  if  the  coast  ivas  clear, 
I  did  a  dozen  times. 

The  next  morning  we  got  it  into  the  boat,  brought  it 
alongside,  and  hoisted  it  on  deck,  but  not  without  a 
deal  of  hard  lifting  and  finger-jamming. 

"  There  ! "  exclaimed  Wade  when  it  was  finally  aboard. 
"  I'll  be  blamed  if  ever  I  go  on  another  meteor-hunt ! " 

But  he  did,  not  a  fortnight  afterwards. 

16 


THE  BEAR  AND   THE   CANNON-RIFLE. 

"TjlLEVEN  o'clock  (night),  with  the  sun  still  shining 
.  1  J  ruddily  in  the  north-west. 

Born  far  down  toward  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  this  was  a 
sight  to  fill  us  with  its  strange  novelty.  In  the  track  of 
the  far-home  beams  lay  the  Fox  Channel,  all  a-glitter 
with  shining  icebergs  driving  steadily  on  in  a  grand 
procession  down  from  the  Gulf  of  Boothia.  The  moun 
tains  of  the  main  rose  hoary  and  gray  in  their  mail  of 
granite  and  leathery  lichen ;  but  the  channel  was  ablaze 
with  "  frozen  flames." 

There  is  something  strange  and  startling  in  this  later 
arctic  sun.  Every  thing  glows  in  it ;  yet  it  is  not  light,  — 
such  light  as  we  of  the  temperate  zone  have  known.  It 
makes  things  ruddy  and  red ;  but  the  higher  colors  are 
singularly  dull.  The  more  delicate  pulsings  of  the  beam, 
those  which  play  so  important  a  part  in  the  growth  of 
vegetation,  are  somehow  lost,  dissipated.  Is  it  in  con 
sequence  of  this  lack  that  life  here  soon  degenerates  to  a 
sharp  struggle  for  existence,  which  robs  it  of  its  beauty 
and  grace  ? 

One  vast  mass  of  field-ice  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  shone 
like  polished  steel.  By  and  by,  as  the  current  bore  it 

242 


THE  BEAR   AND   THE   CANNON-RIFLE.       243 

on,  the  angle  of  reflection  slowly  deflecting,  this  bright 
ness  paled  by  degrees,  till,  in  the  midst  of  what  had 
seemed  a  blaze  of  glowing  silver,  there  emerged  the 
shaggy  form  of  that  dreaded  foe  of  the  explorer,  a  white 
bear,  standing  sturdy  and  still  as  a  mariner  at  the  wheel, 
while  his  unwieldy  craft  drove  resistlessly  on. 

"  A  bear,  a  bear !  "  passed  rapidly  from  mouth  to 
mouth. 

Wash  took  a  long  look  through  his  glass. 

"The  old  chap  seems  to  be  stealing  a  ride  on  an  ice 
field,"  laughed  Raed.  "  He  will  pass  us  at  no  great  dis 
tance." 

We  all  stood  watching  him  by  the  quaint  light  in  si 
lence  for  some  minutes. 

"  Tell  you  what,  fellows !  "  exclaimed  Wade  at  length. 
"  We  might  just  everlastingly  pepper  him  with  '  The  Lit 
tle  Giant '  "  (our  cannon-rifle  of  which  I  have  heretofore 
spoken). 

"  That  you  might !  "  remarked  the  skipper.  "  Come, 
now,  there's  a  chance  to  show  us  all  a  specimen  of  your 
marksmenship." 

(All  along  there  had  been  a  chronic  dispute  as  to 
which  of  us  had  made  the  best  shot  with  this  rather 
original  arm  of  ours.) 

Wade  hastened  below,  and  brought  up  the  powder, 
caps,  and  a  handful  of  the  six-ounce  leaden  balls  ;  while 
Wash  and  Eaed  wheeled  along  "  The  Little  Giant,"  and 
stripped  off  its  rubber  coat. 

"  Draw  lots  for  first  shots  at  him  !  "  cried  the  skipper, 
cutting  up  a  splinter. 

Wade  got  the  first  fire,  and  proceeded  to  load  very 


244  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

carefully.  The  yacht  lay  moored  so  securely  to  the  floe, 
that  there  was  not  sufficient  motion  to  seriously  affect 
his  arm. 

Meanwhile  the  rest  of  us  took  our  glasses,  and  retired 
to  the  other  end  of  the  deck  to  watch  the  result. 

"  Plunk  him  now !  "  bothered  the  skipper. 

"  Yes,  pin  him,  Wade  ! "  from  Wash. 

"  Knock  spots  out  of  him  !  Hit  him  in  the  brisket !  " 
from  Raed:  "that's  where  his'heart  is,  you  know." 

Of  course,  this  advice  greatly  assisted  the  marksman. 
How  much  he  appreciated  it  appeared  from  his  frequent 
bursts  of  "  Oh,  hush  ! "  "  Shut  up  !  "  "  How  can  a  fellow 
do  any  thing  ?  "  &c. 

The  bear  was  by  this  time  not  far  from  a  thousand 
meters  distant.  After  a  great  deal  of  laborious  squinting, 
Wade  pulled  the  trigger.  Instantly  the  sharp  report 
rang  out  across  the  floe,  and  echoed  as  sharply  from  the 
shore-crags.  At  the  same  moment  we  saw  the  bear 
stick  his  nose  up  suddenly  into  the  air,  as  if  he  heard  a 
gnat  over  his  head. 

"  Over-shot ! "  from  all  hands ;  and  Wade  turned  awaj 
with  a  little  chopfallen  laugh. 

The  skipper  stood  ready  with  his  lots.  Wash  got  it 
this  time.  The  gun  was  swabbed  out  and  reloaded. 
The  bear,  as  yet,  had  not  seemed  to  mind  the  report. 
His  notions  of  modern  projectiles  were  doubtless  not  very 
well  denned.  With  three-fourths  of  a  mile  of  clear  water 
between  him  and  any  possible  foe,  he  probably  felt  quite 
at  his  ease.  Very  likely  he  despised  us  altogether. 

Wash  began  a  series  of  scientific  squints  and  left-eye 
shuttings.  The  skipper  couldn't  resist  badgering  him 
in  his  turn. 


THE  BEAR   AND  THE   CANNON-RIFLE.       245 

"What'll  ye  take  for  his  skin,  Wash?"  he  offered. 
"  Remember  me  with  his  claws."  ; 

But  Wash,  proof  against  all  railleries,  got  the  requisite 
squint,  and  fired.  The  bear  turned  sharply  to  the  right, 
and  growled;  at  least,  ive  saw  his  mouth  open.  The 
ball  had  probably  skipped  along  on  the  ice  quite  near. 

"  Dodged  him  !  "  announced  the  skipper  in  great  glee, 
presenting  the  lots  to  Raed  and  myself. 

"  Should  think  you  last  two  fellows  ought  to  hit  him," 
remarked  Wade  maliciously,  cheapening  any  possible 
good  luck  on  our  part. 

The  third  drawing  gave  the  next  shot  to  the  narrator. 
"  B'ar's  ile'll  be  dog-cheap  after  this,"  bantered  the 
skipper,  by  way  of  starting  me  off  well. 

The  bear  was  now  within  half  a  mile.  In  getting  aim, 
I  sought  to  avoid  the  errors  of  both  my  comrades  who 
had  preceded  me.  I  felt  tolerably  certain  of  him,  and, 
on  firing,  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  brute  stretch 
out  his  muzzle,  and  sniff  inquiringly  toward  the  yacht. 

A  roar  of  laughter  arose  at  this  contemptuous  recog 
nition  of  my  gunnery.  The  ice-field  was  drifting  down 
opposite  us,  and  driving  slowly  past,  at  a  distance,  we 
judged,  of  from  six  to  seven  hundred  meters. 

The  last  rays  of  the  "  midnight  sun "  were  just 
streaming  along  the  ice-flecked  sea.  Raed  purposely 
delayed  his  shot  till  the  bear  was  opposite ;  then  blazed 
away  on  a  deliberate  aim.  I  had  thought  the  poor  beast 
would  pass  us  untouched  ;  but  with  the  report  we  saw 
him  spin  violently  around,  and  fall  heavily  upon  the  ice. 
A  shout  of  triumph  arose ;  and,  strangely  like  a  defiance, 
there  came  back  a  wild  roar  of  pain  and  rage.  Then 


'246  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON   BAY. 

was  seen  how  much  a  denizen  of  the  seas  is  this  savage 
creature.  Immediately  that  it  felt  itself  desperately 
hurt,  it  crawled  and  scrambled  to  the  edge  of  the  ice-field, 
whence  we  saw  it  splash  fearlessly  off  into  the  water. 

"  Shall  we  go  for  him  ?"  Wash  asked. 

But  the  sun  was  already  out  of  sight,  and  the  dense 
twilight  of  these  regions  began.  The  distance  around 
the  ice-field  to  where  the  beast  was  floundering  through 
the  waves  was  fully  half  a  mile.  The  sea,  too,  was  filled 
with  floating  cakes.  On  the  whole,  we  did  not  deem  it 
prudent  to  set  off  in  the  boat. 


THE  FALL  OF  A  EED  METEOR. 

FEOM  the  "  Weather-Book  "  which  we  kept  during 
our  cruise  I  extract  the  following  entry  :  — 

"  Aug.  27.  — Anchored  for  the  night  in  an  unnamed 
inlet  in  the  main,  north-east  of  Mansel  (island)  ;  very 
narrow  ;  some  ice.  Shore  mountainous,  with  high  cliffs. 
Weather  clear.  Twilight  till  after  two  (midnight). 
Twenty  minutes  after  twelve,  saw  a  very  large  red  meteor 
flying  west ;  seemed  curiously  disconnected  ;  three  large 
bolides,  one  close  behind  the  other,  followed  by  a  train 
of  smaller  balls  ;  very  distinct  hissing,  whistling  noise  : 
immediately  (about  ten  seconds)  after  it  went  behind 
the  shore-cliffs,  there  was  a  heavy  explosion,  loud  as  the 
report  of  a  twenty-four-pounder;  woke  everybody  on 
board." 

How  well  I  recall  that  evening,  and  the  interest  this 
startling  phenomenon  had  for  us  ! 

Wash  was  the  first  to  see  it.  "  Ah !  look,  look,  look  !  " 
he  sang  out. 

It  was  not  in  sight  more  than  two  seconds.  Then 
came  the  report,  like  a  thunder-clap.  Before  we  had  re 
covered  from  our  astonishment,  Raed  and  Wa^6  caine 
rushing  up  the  companion-way. 

247 


248  YACHT-CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

"  What  was  that  ?  "  Eaed  shouted. 

"  What  were  you  firing  the  howitzer  for  ?  "  demanded 
Wade. 

"  Howitzer  ! "  I  exclaimed.  "  Our  gun  don't  speak 
after  that  fashion.  That  was  a  meteor." 

"  A  meteor !     Is  that  so  ?  "  said  Kaed. 

"  A  meteor  !  "  cried  Wade.  «  Did  it  lust  ?  It  ought 
to,  to  make  that  noise." 

Wash  described  what  we  had  seen,  and  the  beauty  of 
the  spectacle. 

"  A  red  meteor !  "  remarked  Wade.  "  Isn't  that  color 
unusual  ?  Those  I  have  seen  were  bright,  flame-colored 
points,  shooting  along  the  sky,  and  then  fading  away  in 
silence." 

Wade  observed  that  his  father  (Capt.  Additon)  once 
saw  a  meteor  explode  in  Arizona  Territory  in  the  day 
time  ;  and  hot  fragments  from  it  fell  to  the  ground  at  no 
great  distance  from  his  camp. 

"  I've  no  doubt  this  one  fell  to  the  earth,"  Wash  re 
marked.  "  Perhaps  we  can  find  the  spot,  and  get  some 
of  the  pieces  for  our  collection." 

"  But  we  don't  know  how  far  away  the  thing  was  when 
it  exploded,"  said  E,aed.  "  The  distance  must  be  con 
sidered." 

Wash  declared  that  it  was  not  over  two  miles  away  ; 
and,  judging  from  the  distinctness  of  the  explosion,  I 
did  not  believe  it  could  have  been  more  than  three  or 
four. 

ic  Did  you  notice  its  position  when  the  explosion  oc 
curred?"  asked  Wade. 

Wash  affirmed  that  it  had  disappeared  directly  behind 


THE  FALL   OF   A   BED   METEOR.  249 

a  dark,  ledgy  hummock,  about  north-west  from  where 
the  yacht  lay;  and  that  the  explosion  seemed  to  come 
from  very  near  that  point,  though  several  seconds  elapsed 
before  the  sounds  reached  us. 

"If  you  can  tell  pretty  nearly  the  length  of  the  in 
terval  between  the  bursting  of  the  meteor  and  your  hear 
ing  the  sound,  of  course  we  can  reckon  the  distance." 

"  Well,  I  should  say  eight  seconds,"  said  Wash. 

"  I  guess  twelve,"  said  I. 

"Call  it  ten,"  resumed  Raed.  "That  would  give  a 
distance  of  not  far  from  two  miles.  I  guess  we  must  try 
to  hunt  it  up  to-morrow." 

Our  skipper  had  come  on  deck. 

The  next  morning,  early  (I  say,  early;  for,  though  the 
sun  had  been  up  two  hours,  it  was  but  a  few  minutes 
after  four  o'clock),  we  let  down  the  boat,  and  rowed 
ashore.  Climbing  up  the  cliffs,  we  started  inland  to 
search  for  the  aerolite.  When  we  had  reached  the  hum 
mock,  we  looked  back  to  the  yacht,  and  took  our  course 
from  that  north-west,  a  few  points  south,  and  then  set 
off  over  the  hoary,  lichen-clad  ledges. 

The  country  rose  gradually  to  a  barren  ridge  three  or 
four  miles  distant. 

The  whole  landscape  was  singularly  rigid  and  for 
bidding.  No  soil,  save  here  and  there  a  patch  of  coarse 
gravel.  Wet  moss,  and  cold,  icy  puddles,  filled  the  de 
pressions  of  the  rough  sandstone  and  granite  which  lay 
spread  out  everywhere. 

After  going  two  miles,  as  nearly  as  we  could  guess  the 
distance,  we  began  our  search,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout 
for  dark,  reddish  stones ;  for  Wash,  who  is  "  posted  "  on 


250  YACHT -CRUISE  IN   HUDSON  BAY. 

meteors,  had  told  us  the  fragments  would  be  of  thai 
color,  or  something  like  it. 

Keeping  within  three  or  four  rods  of  each  other,  we 
passed  back  and  forth  over  a  space  nearly  a  mile  in 
width,  and  thus  gradually  worked  our  way  to  the  sum 
mit  of  the  ridge,  without  seeing  any  thing  that  in  the 
least  resembled  the  stones  we  were  in  search  of. 

"That  'high-fly'  was  only  shamming,"  said  Wade. 
"  It  didn't  drop  any  thing."  And  we  were  all  inclined 
to  agree  with  him. 

The  crest  of  the  ridges  sloped  off  on  the  other  side  to 
a  valley,  which  rose,  in  turn,  toward  another  naked,  gray 
range  of  bleak  hills,  on  which  no  tree  nor  shrub  grew  ; 
nothing  save  moss,  and  here  and  there  a  bunch  of  "  An 
dromeda."  It  was  a  most  cheerless  land. 

"  Halloo  !  "  exclaimed  Raed  suddenly.  "  There  are 
more  of  our  Esquimau  friends." 

The  previous  evening  we  had  been  visited  by  three  or 
four  native  kayaks. 

"  That  so  ?  "  cried  Wade. 

"  Yes.  Look  at  them  through  this  glass.  There  are 
four  or  five  of  them  down  in  the  hollow,  standing  round 
something,  —  fire,  I  guess.  I  can  see  smoke." 

"  Let's  go  down,"  said  Wash. 

It  was,  perhaps,  half  a  mile.  We  had  two  of  our 
muskets  loaded. 

As  we  came  up  to  the  group,  four  of  them  ran  away ; 
stopping,  however,  some  twenty  rods  in  the  distance. 
Three  of  these  were  women.  One  of  the  men  stood  his 
ground,  and  even  came  forward  to  meet  us  with  a  broad 
grin  on  his  great,  flat,  greasy  face.  We  at  once  recog- 


THE  FALL  OF  A  RED  METEOR.      251 

nized  him  as  one  of  those  that  had  come  on  board  the 
yacht  the  previous  day. 

"  Bassuk  ok  ameet  weg  aktook ! "  he  cried  out,  or 
some  such  gibberish,  pointing  to  the  smoke.  "Wallok 
ik  peo-wanga  !  "  gesticulating,  and  pointing  up  to  the 
sky. 

We  could  not  even  imagine  what  he  meant,  and  could 
only  nod  re-assuringly  to  him.  The  other  savages  now 
approached  us. 

The  bottom  of  the  hollow  was  filled  with  a  moss-bed 
three  or  four  feet  deep.  A  patch,  a  rod  in  diameter,  had 
been  burned  out ;  and  the  fire  was  still  smouldering  in 
the  damp  fibre.  Almost  in  the  centre  of  the  burnt  ring 
lay  a  reddish  stone  half  covered  with  ash.  Wash  threw 
it  out  in  triumph. 

"  Here's  one  of  the  pieces ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Fell 
here,  and  set  the  moss  afire  !  " 

It  looked  as  if  it  might  be  so. 

Raed  pointed  to  the  stone,  and  then  up  to  the  sky, 
looking  to  the  Esquimau. 

"Abb,  abb!"  ("  Yes,  yes  !")  said  he,  nodding  long  and 
violently. 

We  had  no  doubt  of  it. 

The  stone  itself  weighed  about  seven  pounds,  and  was 
covered  with  a  dark-reddish  rind.  It  seemed  to  be 
composed  largely  of  iron,  and  is  now  in  our  collection. 


A   COUPLE  OF   "ENOUGHS." 

"  ~T3  ^y^  now  about  admission  to  your  college  steamer?  " 
\J  one  friend  inquires.     "  You  will  not  let  anybody 
in  that  happens  to  have  the  money  regardless  of  prepara 
tory  studies  ?     Shall  you  have  examinations  ?  '7 

And  another  friend  asks,  "  Shall  you  have  a  regular 
fitting-school,  with  studies  adapted  to  prepare  boys  for 
the  steamer  ?  " 

To  the  first  of  these  questions  we  reply,  that  there  will 
certainly  be  "examinations,"  —  pretty  searching  ones. 

As  regards  the  second  question,  it  may  be  remarked, 
that  no  fitting-school  has  yet  been  contemplated  in  con 
nection  with  our  steamship  plan  :  that  is  a  matter  to  be 
considered  in  the  light  of  future  wants. 

As  to  what  will  be  required  of  a  candidate  for  admis 
sion  to  the  "  future  American  college,"  it  may  be  ob 
served,  that  we  are  not  quite  at  one  amongst  ourselves  on 
all  points  pertaining  to  that  question  yet,  but  expect  to 
come  to  final  conclusions  by  the  time  our  patrons  shall 
have  done  their  part  toward  launching  us. 

Several  requisites,  however,  are  already  as  good  as 
"  passed  "  and  agreed  on.  They  are,  — 

I.  A   body   in   good   running-order  (physically),  the 

252 


A  COUPLE  OF   "  ENOUGHS."  253 

fact  of  which  must  be  certified  to  by  competent  medical 
authority.  A  physical  examination  will  therefore  come 
first  of  all.  We  deem  this  of  prime  importance.  The 
body  is  the  machine  which  evolves  the  mind ;  in  a 
word,  the  mind  is  the  product  off  the  body.  In  order  to 
have  the  product  good,  and  of  first  quality,  the  machine 
must  be  kept  in  repair,  in  good  working-order.  Now, 
not  one  American  boy  in  a  score  keeps  his  corpus  in  good 
running-order,  —  in  half  so  good  order  as  he  might  and 
ought  to  do.  The  physical  standard  needs  raising.  We 
want  healthy  bodies,  such  as  defy  disease  in  the  main,  and 
bear  fatigue  without  "wilting."  It  will  be  of  no  use  for 
a  chap  all  "  run  down,"  and  "  out  of  condition,"  to  pre 
sent  himself:  he  will  not  get  in.  We  do  not  want  such 
abusers  of  their  own  carcasses :  they  would  be  apt  to  abuse 
their  fellow-students. 

II.  Must  be  able  to  take  a  pencil,  and  sketch  cleverly 
on  paper  any  object  which  shall  be  assigned,  —  a  chair,  a 
house,  a  ship,  a  tree,  a  car.      To  do  this,  some  prelimi 
nary  practice  in  free-hand  drawing  will  have  been  needed: 
the  eye  and  the  hand  must  have  been  educated  to  some 
extent.     We  deem  this  the  very  first  step  to  be  taken  in 
right  education. 

III.  Must  be  able  to  take  pen  and  paper,  and  write  out 
a  page  on  a  "  subject  "  assigned  by  examiner,  and  punc 
tuate  the  same  correctly.     His  "  English "  must  be  at 
least  fair.      There   must  be  no  serious  errors  in  spell 
ing.     His  sentences  must  be  complete,  and  clean  of  each 
other.      Most  essential  of  all,  there  must  be  fair  logic 
evinced.    We  do  not  care  what  grammar  he  has  studied, 
or  whether  he  has  ever  studied  any. 


254  YACHT-CRUISE  IN  HUDSON  BAY. 

IV.  Must  be  able,  in  the  case  of  his  own  body  or  that 
of  a  fellow-student,  to  point  out  the  location  of  heart, 
lungs,  stomach,  liver,  &c.,  and  tell  the  use,  and  method 
of  action,  of  each ;  in  a  word,  explain  the  process  of  nu 
trition,  together  with  the  source  and  office  of  the  blood, 
the  relation  of  veins  to  arteries,  the  office  of  nerves  ;  and, 
lastly,  describe  the  ear  and  the  eye  in  connection  with 
sound  and  light. 

V.  Must  have  a  general  idea  of  the  correlation  of  the 
natural  forces  —  heat,  light,  electricity,  magnetism  —  as 
transmitted  to  us  from  the  sun. 

"How  much  mathematics,  physical  geography,  geolo 
gy,  chemistry,  ancient  history  ? "  has  been  repeatedly 
asked. 

Well,  that  is  a  question  upon  which  we  are  not  yet 
agreed. 

"  But  aren't  you  going  to  have  any  Latin  ?  "  another 
friend  demands. 

"  Going  to  tip  out  Greek  entirely  ? "  still  another 
inquires. 

Not  quite  so  bad  as  that.  Our  friend  Kaed  is  hard  at 
work  on  two  books  at  once.  One  he  is  going  to  call 
"Latin  Enough;"  the  other,  "Greek  Enough,"  —  a 
couple  of  "  Enoughs." 

The  "  Latin  Enough  "  is  to  be  made  up  of  three  hundred 
Latin  words  which  enter  most  frequently  into  English 
com  pound- words. 

The  meaning,  "  roots"  and  an  example  of  the  use  of 
each  one  of  these  words,  are  to  be  set  forth.  This  list  ia 
designed  to  be  memorized  thoroughly. 

Then  the  manner  in  which  our  English  derivatives 


A  COUPLE  OF   "  ENOUGHS."  255 

from  the  Latin  are  made  up  is  to  be  illustrated  at 
length. 

Next  ccme  interlinear  extracts  from  Csesar,  Virgil, 
Horace,  and  Cicero. 

Finally,  the  manner  in  which  Latin  is  made  use  of  in 
law-phrases,  in  medical  works,  and  in  the  nomenclatures 
of  natural  history,  botany,  physiology,  &c.,  is  to  be  elu 
cidated.  This  is,  as  I  understand,  his  plan. 

The  "  Greek  Enough  "  is  to  be  one  hundred  Greek 
words  treated  ditto. 

Lest  the  reader,  in  these  evil  days,  be  led  to  mistake 
all  this  for  a  sly  advertisement,  I  may  add,  that  we 
anticipate  giving  away  these  "Enoughs"  to  our  friends 
(for  a  while,  at  least),  and  shall  even  undertake  to  pre 
pay  the  postage. 

Well,  enough  is  enough.  Fare  thee  well,  reader ! 
Don't  forget  the  college  steamship,  which  ought  to 
sail  the  year  of  the  Transit. 


THE  OLYMPIC   GAMES  IN  AMERICA. 


are  no  boys  in  the  world  who  should  be 
-1-  stronger  and  more  athletic  than  the  boj7s  of  the 
United  States.  We  are,  as  a  rule,  tall,  well-propor 
tioned,  and  remarkably  active  and  quick-motioned. 
Nature  puts  better  material  into  us  than  into  the  youths 
of  any  other  land.  It  is  our  own  fault  that  we  do  not 
improve  upon  it  more.  It  is  shameful  that  so  many  of 
us  are  lank,  nerveless,  and  white-livered.  There  are  two 
principal  reasons  for  this  abuse.  The  first  we  cannot 
here  enter  upon.  The  second  is,  that  we  take  so  little 
physical  exercise;  even  that  little  being  rarely  of  the 
proper  sort.  We  need  to  comprehend,  at  the  outset, 
that  physical  exercise  of  the  right  kind  is  the  only  thing 
in  the  world  that  will  promote  'muscle  and  strength 
of  body,  whence  comes  energy  of  mind;  and,  knowing 
this,  we  should  act  upon  it. 

Ah  that  those  grand  old  tournaments  of  Greece  could 
be  revived  here  in  America  ! 

And  why  not  ? 

Why  cannot  we  have  "Olympic  Games,"  where  our 
youth  from  the  various  States  of  our  broad  land  may 
gather  as  did  those  of  Athens,  Sparta,  Thebes,  and  Cor 
inth,  in  glorious  prime  ? 

256 


THE  OLYMPIC   GAMES   IN   AMERICA.  257 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  examination  for  admis 
sion  to  the  college  steamship  be  associated  with  Ameri 
canized  Olympic  Games. 

The  idea  seems  a  good  one  ;  for,  if  there  is  an  evil  to 
be  deplored  and  striven  against,  it  is  the  physical  degen 
eracy  of  our  young  men.  If  it  continues,  it  will  ruin  us, 
nationally,  as  surely  as  Capua  ruined  "  the  warlike  Gar 
th  agen  "  martially. 

Why  give  to  prize-fighters  and  blacklegs  a  monopoly 
of  physical  sports  ?  We  have  thought  too  much  of  our 
soulsy  and  too  little  of  our  bodies,  forgetting,  or  ignorant, 
that  a  sound  body  can  alone  save  a  soul,  and  that  physi 
cal  enervation  is  the  sure  prelude  of  moral  degradation. 

Experimentally,  we  hope  to  found  the  American  Olym 
pic  Games  in  connection  with  the  College  Steamship,  that 
true  University  of  the  Seas.  The  "palms"  may  well  be 
"scholarships"  on  the  steamship,  as  fast  as  scholarships 
shall  be  endowed. 

"  But  these  are  not  yet  endowed,"  one  says. 

Very  true  ;  but  they  ivill  be  endowed.  We  know  our 
people  well  enough  to  hazard  nothing  in  our  guaranty, 
that,  when  once  they  have  well  considered  the  plan,  the 
Future  American  College  will  not  long  lack  for  endow 
ments. 

In  the  place  of  the  boxing-matches  with  the  Greek 
Cestus,  it  has  been  suggested  to  substitute  a  trial  of 
marksmanship  at  target-practice  with  rifles  of  improved 
pattern :  and,  in  lieu  of  the  chariot-races,  it  is  proposed 
to  establish  swimming-matches  and  regattas,  —  these 
"games"  in  addition  to  the  more  purely  literary  requi 
sitions. 

17 


A  STILL  LATER   DECISION. 

OJ  OME  twenty  young  men  who  are  most  thoroughly  in- 
kj)  terested  in  the  college  steamer  have  agreed  (in  case 
the  necessary  funds  cannot  be  raised  by  spring  of  the 
Transit  year,  1874)  to  hire  a  smaller  steamer,  and,  by  way 
of  testing  the  soundness  of  the  main  plan  still  further,  to 
make  a  voyage  into  the  South  Pacific  to  observe  the  Tran 
sit.  A  station  on  Kerguelen  Island,  in  connection  with 
a  cruise  in  the  South  Sea,  has  been  talked  of.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  "  Kanaks  "  may  not  eat  them  up,  — 
those  hungry  cannibals  said  to  dwell  there. 

258 


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